


Feels Like Home

by DarlingReigns



Category: American Actor RPF, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Boston, Drama, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Hollywood, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:47:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 63,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingReigns/pseuds/DarlingReigns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris Evans loves few things as much as he loves being home in Boston, away from the buzz of Los Angeles, the glow of his star status. While home he meets, Kyle, who instantly appears to be the woman of his dreams. A fast friendship starts,  bonding over their mutual love of the city they call home, but Kyle is content on keeping Chris at bay. Not for her sake, but for his. </p><p>As a romantic relationship starts to blossom, Chris is falling hard, while Kyle insists they are simply...friends. Friends with benefits at best. She doesn't date. She won't date. And she certainly won't allow herself to hurt him. </p><p>Will Kyle wake up and realize her true feelings before it's too late? Or will she push the one man capable of breaking down her walls as far away as possible?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He had never been so glad to be in Boston in all of his life. Sure it was cold, and the snow was a bit much at the moment, but it was home and it was a damn shade better than Los Angeles. Los Angeles just felt so fake; the people, the place, the general way of life. That’s why whenever he wasn’t working, he was in Boston. Away from the noise and the limelight.  
Chris Evans loved his job. He loved acting and he was more than grateful for everything it had given him; the freedom to live the way he wanted and not have to worry about money, the ability to take care of his family and those he loved, but some days (most days in fact) he’d give about anything to disappear into a small cabin in the woods, away from the hustle of it all.  
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shivered as he walked out the lobby of his apartment and into the blustery winter. Luckily for him, the bar he was meeting his best friend at was only a couple blocks away, otherwise he likely would’ve cancelled. But he had just arrived back in town and a night out with Toby was always a more than amusing.  
He walked into the pub where he’d be meeting his longtime friend and was somewhat amazed. It was obviously fairly new, the fixtures and decorations sleek, modern and shiny. It was packed to the brim with people laughing and carrying on. Normally it also doubled as a fairly popular eatery, but it was obvious this crowd was here for the spirits. It seemed to be a happening place, which for Toby “Hooters” Jones was a bit out of the ordinary.  
He sniffed the cold from his nose and made his way to the open spot at the end of the bar counter, pulling off his leather jacket and draping it on the back of the only available stool in the place.  
“What can I get for you?” the bearded, tattooed man behind the bar asked.  
“Um, Boulevard. Whatever you have on tap. Thanks,” Chris said with a smile as he pulled out the stool and took a seat, his blue eyes still scanning every corner of the bar. The more he looked around, the more Toby’s suggestion of this place didn’t make any sense.  
“Here ya go.”  
Chris looked back. The voice delivering his drink had changed. Now standing before him was a gorgeous brunette, tan skin, chocolate eyes, black thick rimmed glasses and what was quite possibly the tightest tank top he had ever seen. “Um. Thank you. You’ve changed a lot since I ordered,” he said with a grin.  
The girl laughed. “Brent had to step away. Sorry for the disappointment.”  
“Definitely…definitely not disappointed,” Chris said with a grin, lifting the bottle to his lips. The beauty just smiled and made her way to the other end of the bar. She was cute. He could get used to this place. 

“So are you just going to sit here all night by yourself?” his beauty asked as she wiped down the counter that had become a little less occupied.  
“Mm,” Chris said, shaking his head and finishing what was probably his third beer of the evening. “I was supposed to be meeting a friend but…apparently…he is running a little behind.”  
“Lemme guess,” she said with a smirk. “Toby?”  
“You know him?”  
“I should hope so. We’re family.”  
“Wait what?” Chris asked. He chuckled. “You’re related to Toby?”  
“Cousins, his mom’s side,” the girl responded, wiping her hands on the dry towel tucked into her belt. She extended a hand toward him. “Kyle Donato.”  
“Chris Evans,” he grinned as he shook. She had a strong grip. It was kind of sexy.  
“I know who you are,” she laughed. “Is there anyone who doesn’t?”  
“Probably a couple,” Chris said with a shrug. He looked at the girl again and shook his head. “Wow. How are you related to Toby? That doesn’t even make sense.”  
“Trust me. I’ve been struggling with that feeling all my life,” Kyle stated with a laugh.  
“You definitely got all the looks in the family.”  
Kyle arched an eyebrow behind her thick frames. “Famous and charming? My haven’t we hit the jackpot?”  
“Ah there it is. The sarcasm. Now I believe you’re related,” Chris stated, eliciting a chuckle from the bartender. “So…how haven’t we met before? I’ve been friends with Toby since we were kids. I’ve met pretty much his entire family.”  
“I haven’t been around much,” Kyle stated. “My parents divorced when I was a kid, mom moved to Florida, didn’t spend a lot of time up here.”  
“But now you’re back?”  
“Yeah. After a four years in Italy, Boston was calling me back.”  
“Italy?” Chris asked. “Kind of impressive.”  
“Culinary school.”  
“And you’re bartending?”  
Kyle laughed. “Well when your head bartender calls in sick, you fill in where you’re needed.”  
“Your bartender?”  
“Yeah, I kinda own the place,” Kyle said scrunching up her face and issuing him a nonchalant shrug. “No big deal.”  
“Wow,” Chris said, giving his head a bit of a shake. “I am…actually impressed. That is cool. Really cool.”  
Kyle smiled. “Thank you. I’m pretty proud of it.”  
“You should…” Chris began as he felt a hard slap on his shoulder and a shout.  
“Hey!” his best friend Toby bellowed finally walking into the restaurant.  
“Finally,” Chris sighed standing up and embracing his friend tightly. “Where the fuck you been, man?”  
“Sorry. Amanda and I got into it.”  
Kyle rolled her eyes. “Go fucking figure.”  
“I don’t need any lip out of you,” Toby stated, taking a seat next to Chris. “I see you’ve met my annoying little sister of a cousin.”  
Chris chuckled. “She hasn’t annoyed me yet.”  
“Yet being the operative word,” Toby sighed. He looked to Kyle who was busy stocking the beer coolers. “Can I get a drink or what?”  
“You can go fuck yourself,” Kyle stated. “That’s what you can do.”  
Toby sighed. “Someone’s a little extra sassy today.”  
Kyle grabbed a bottle of Stella Artois from the cooler and slid it toward her cousin. “I was just having more fun talking to your friend than you.”  
“I’m sure you were. Chris here is a pretty charming fucking chap,” Toby stated, once again delivering a sharp slap to the man’s shoulder. “That’s why he gets all the ladies.”  
Chris scoffed. “I wouldn’t say that.”  
“Do you know who this dick is dating?” Toby continued, ignoring the “shut up” look he was getting from his friend. “Mara Huntington. The supermodel slash actress slash every man’s mental porn star.”  
“Gross, Tob. You’re married,” Kyle said, scrunching her face.  
“Married not dead.” Toby turned to his best friend. “How is the gorgeous girl anyway?”  
Chris opened his mouth and searched for words. “I don’t know…actually. We broke up a couple months ago.”  
“What?! Are you fucking insane?!” Toby shouted, practically spitting out the mouthful of beer he’d just taken. “Why would you break up with that? How could you?”  
“Look, I’m sorry I hurt you, man,” Chris said with a laugh. “It just wasn’t working out.”  
“A girl like that, you figure out a way to make it work. No matter what. You don’t give up. You have to live the dream for the rest of us,” Toby commanded. He quickly finished the rest of his beer and rose from the stool. “I need the can. Be right back.”  
Chris scoffed and shook his head as he went back to the beer in his hand.  
“He’s a bit much sometimes, huh?” Kyle said, wiping off the glass in her hand.  
Chris shrugged. “I guess I’ve gotten used to it. Doesn’t bother me…anymore.”  
“Guess I just haven’t gotten used to it yet,” Kyle sighed.  
“So what brought you back to Boston?” Chris asked.  
Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s the first place I ever remember feeling at home. The little time I spent here with my dad was…some of the best moments of my life…and…I don’t know. Thought it’d be a good place to plant my roots I guess. Plus with my dad getting sick…”  
Chris suddenly knew exactly which member of Toby’s clan Kyle’s father was. “Rick.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Rick’s…a great guy, man. I remember…a lot of summer’s spent out on the water with him. Out on the boat. I threw Tob overboard a lot. Some good times,” Chris stated. “Gotta be hard.”  
Kyle shrugged. “I mean…yeah. I don’t know. I don’t really like to talk about it.”  
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to…”  
“No you’re fine,” Kyle reassured with a smile. “My dad actually talks about those summers a lot. I used beg my mom to let me come up here for the summer. I HATED Miami. With …a passion. I still do. It’s so…ugh. Just…fake…and the people…”  
Chris laughed. “That is…exactly how I feel about Los Angeles.”  
“Yet you live there.”  
“MmhmmMmm,” Chris said, taking a swig as he shook his head. “I do not live in Los Angeles. I work in Los Angeles. I live here. Boston is my home. There is…nowhere in the world I’d rather be.”  
“I can understand that feeling.”  
“Sorry, man. I gotta bounce. The wife requests my presence,” Toby said, returning from the restroom with a sigh.  
“You just got here!” Chris exclaimed with a laugh.  
“I know, I know, but…you know how it is.”  
“No, I really don’t,” Chris argued, shaking his head. “I have never seen a more codependent relationship in my life.”  
“Look, when you’re married, you’ll understand.”  
“I really hope I don’t,” Chris said, laughing. “I would like to not spend my entire marriage in a fucking horrid cycle of fighting and making up.”  
“Shut up.”  
“You guys go from wanting to rip each other’s heads off to planning the next fifteen consecutive years. I don’t get it, but good for you. I’m glad you’re happy…ish.”  
“Fuck off. You and Kyle here can sit around and bond over your bitter, shitty single lives. I’m going home to my wife,” Toby stated. “Have a good night, kids.”  
“Hey! You gotta pay for that!” Kyle exclaimed as Toby made his way to the door.  
“Nah, I know the owner,” he responded with a wink before disappearing into the night.  
Kyle sighed and shook her head. “I’m going to go broke because of that son of a bitch.”  
Chris laughed. “Just add it to my tab.”  
“Can I add the hundreds of other drinks and enormous amount of food he’s had on the house?” Kyle asked with a smirk.  
“Maybe some other night.” 

Chris and Kyle spent the rest of the night talking and laughing while Kyle worked and Chris drank. Crowds of people would come have a few drinks and leave for another place at random intervals, but by the time closing arrived, Chris had begun to feel as if he’d made a new friend.  
“So you work every night, I assume?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked Kyle to her car.  
“Mostly. I tend to stay pretty busy,” Kyle responded as she found her keys in the bottom of her oversized purse. “Why do you ask?”  
“Well I, um…I have tickets to the Celtics game tomorrow night and I was going to take Toby but he wasn’t around long enough to ask so…I don’t know, thought maybe you’d like to go?” Chris answered, shrugging his broad, muscular shoulders.  
Kyle laughed. “Ya know…I’d really like to but…its probably a bit short notice to bail on my employees.”  
Chris shook his head. “That’s fine. I totally get it. Some other time…”  
“Yeah,” Kyle nodded. There was a short moment of silence. “Do you want a ride?”  
“I’ll be alright. It’s really only a couple of blocks,” Chris assured.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah, yeah. I live really close,” Chris nodded. He paused again. “Unless…you wanted to join me for a nightcap or something?”  
Kyle laughed again. “Is that code for something?”  
“No!” Chris exclaimed. “God no. No. No. Not that…no, that’s not what I meant.”  
“I was joking,” Kyle reassured. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.” She stared at Chris as his blue eyes drifted closed with the rise of his smiling cheeks. “Ya know what? Sure. Let’s have a night cap.”  
“Really?” Chris asked happily. “Alright, cool.”  
“I’ll just leave my car here.”  
“Yeah, that’s fine. Parking at my place is a bitch.”  
Kyle relocked the doors with a click of a button and then turned the Chris. “Lead the way.”  
Chris smiled, extending his elbow, hands still in his pockets. “My lady.”  
Kyle laughed and roped her arm through the loop that had formed and they began down the still snow covered sidewalk. 

“Fuck!” Chris exclaimed, tossing the Xbox controller down on the table in front of him. “How do you keep doing that?” He sighed and ran his hands over his head. “Jesus Christ this is embarrassing. I’m really, really disappointed in myself.”  
“I really thought this would be harder,” Kyle said with a laugh, standing up just long enough to cross her legs under herself before sitting back down. “You make showing you up quite easy.”  
“Fuck,” Chris groaned again, heading into his kitchen for another beer. He grabbed two and shut the fridge door as they clicked together. “Ya know, if I would’ve known you were just going to make me look like a fucking moron, I probably wouldn’t have invited you back here.”  
Kyle laughed as he walked back toward her, handing her the chilled brew in his hand. “I probably should have warned you.”  
“You really should’ve,” he agreed, climbing over the back of the couch. “I mean, you’re hot. You own a bar. You like the Celtics. And you just kicked my ass at MarioKart for like the fifteenth time tonight. I might be falling in love with you.”  
Kyle laughed loudly. “I’m going to go ahead and discourage that one right now.”  
“Why?” Chris asked. “I don’t see an issue.”  
Kyle rolled her eyes. “You’re drunk.”  
Chris pursed his lips and shrugged. “Maybe a little. Doesn’t mean I can’t see what’s right in front of me.”  
There was a moment of silence and Kyle could feel Chris’s blue eyes practically staring a hole into her. She was a bit uncomfortable. Sure it was flattering and all but…she didn’t date. She didn’t do relationships. She was terrible at them and starting one with him, one of the world’s most sought after men, wasn’t exactly at the top of her priority list. She took a deep breath and shifted. “I, um…I should probably go,” she said softly before climbing to her feet.  
“Why? Hey,” Chris said, springing from the sofa and following her to the door. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make things weird.”  
“It’s fine,” Kyle assured with a weak smile. “It’s like four in the morning. I should probably get going.”  
“Well let me walk you to your car.”  
“I’ll be fine, really.”  
“Kyle…”  
“I had a lot of fun tonight.”  
Chris sighed as he realized he was getting nowhere with the guarded girl. “Yeah. Yeah. We should do it again sometime.”  
“Yeah. Sure.”  
“Soon.”  
“You know where to find me,” Kyle said with a smile as she fastened up her coat. “Have a good night.”  
“Yeah. Yeah. You too,” Chris smirked as she opened the door and headed out. He sighed as he closed the door tightly behind her. He wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened. They’d spent the entire night together, even while she was working, followed by two hours of video games and jokes and laughter on his couch and then a switch flipped and she was up and out the door before he could even say her name. He shook his head and began picking up things around the room before deciding to call it a night. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would have to talk to Toby.


	2. Chapter 2

“Late night last night?” Toby asked with a laugh as Chris strolled into a sandwich shop in downtown Boston.   
“Uh, yeah,” Chris said with a nod as he pulled off his coat and sat down.   
“What’d you do? I left the bar at like ten. Where’d you go?”   
“Nowhere,” Chris answered. “I hung out with your cousin actually.”   
Toby just stared at him, as if he’d just claimed to see the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. “Are you serious?”   
Chris nodded. “Yeah. I, um…hung around the bar and afterward we went to my place, had a few drinks, played some video games.”   
“Are you trying to fuck my cousin?” Toby asked.   
Chris laughed. “I don’t know if I’d say that…”   
“You are! You’re totally trying to fuck my cousin. What the fucking hell, dude!?”   
“What?!” Chris exclaimed with a laugh. “She’s a cool girl, man. She’s hot and funny and a total smart ass. She’s really chill. I kinda like her.”   
“You’re an idiot.”   
“Well fuck you too, bro,” Chris laughed.   
“Dude…you do not want to get involved with her. Trust me on this.”   
“Why?” Chris asked. “She seems…pretty incredible from my viewpoint.”   
“Look, I love Kyle like a little sister, but the girl is a train wreck, especially when it comes to her romantic outings.”   
“Ouch.”   
“I’m serious.”   
“Seems to have her shit together to me,” Chris stated, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.   
“Yeah, her career, sure, but her personal life is a big fucking mess,” Toby stated. “She is not good in relationships.”   
Chris chuckled. “I did just meet her yesterday so maybe we could table the relationship talk for a bit. Wasn’t planning on marrying her quite yet.”   
Toby sighed, frustrated that Chris didn’t appear to be taking his warnings seriously. “She is going to eat you up and spit you out dude.”   
“You seem pretty willing to shit talk your family here, dude.”   
“I’m not shit talking her, I’m being serious. She dated the same guy in Italy for four years. When she decided to come back here, he was all about coming with her and starting a life and she just…bailed on him. Told him she wasn’t interested and left.”   
“Maybe it wasn’t working out.”   
“After four years?”   
“Man I don’t know! Were you there?” Chris asked. “Do you actually know what happened or just what you’ve been told?”   
Toby sighed. “I know what I’ve heard.”   
“Exactly and ya know what…people say a lot of shit about me too, doesn’t make any of it true,” Chris stated.   
“I’m just trying to look out for you, man.”   
“I get that and…thank you but…I’m gonna see how this one plays out.”   
“Alright man. Just don’t come to me when you get your heart busted up.”   
“Not real worried about that at the moment,” Chris said with a smirk. “As for now…I’m just gonna swing by Nosh and…see if she wants to go to the game with me tonight.”   
“Really?” Toby asked with a scoff.   
“Yes, really,” Chris answered. “I asked her last night and she said no…but I think…I could convince her. I hope so.”   
“So now she gets my Celtics ticket?”   
“Your ticket? When was the last time you paid for a fucking ticket to anything?” Chris asked. “Shut the fuck up.”   
“Bros before hoes, dude.”   
“Will Amanda even let you go?”   
“No. I’ve got some stupid fucking work Halloween party I’m being forced to go to,” Toby stated. “Hopefully I’ll be about three shades passed drunk by the time the game starts.”   
“So you just guilt tripped me for no fucking reason?” Chris asked as Toby simply smirked. “You’re a dick. A real fucking dick, ya know that?” He shook his head and continued scanning the menu. “Fucking asshole.” 

“Well hello, gorgeous.”   
Kyle glanced up from the bar and pushed up the glasses that were slipping down her nose as Chris strode toward her. “What are you doing here?” she asked with a laugh. “Didn’t I just see you?”   
“Ya know, I think perhaps. I had a bit to drink though, so it’s all kind of a blur,” Chris said with a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets. Kyle just smiled and went back to slicing her lemons. “I’m sorry about last night, by the way.”   
Kyle looked up at him, a confused expression on her face. “For what? You didn’t do anything.”   
“I can get carried away when a ton of beer and a beautiful woman are involved.”   
“Its fine, Chris. Really. I’m not offended.”   
“Then why did you leave so suddenly?”   
Kyle set down her knife and sighed. “Because…I don’t want lines to start to blur. You…are a really, really sweet guy and you are obviously super attractive, I just… I don’t date. I don’t do that whole aspect of life.”   
“A girl like you? I imagine that involves a lot of broken hearts.”   
“I try to prevent that as much as possible,” Kyle said with a laugh. “I’m not very good at it sometimes and I’ve made a lot of messes and I really don’t want to do it again. Especially not with my cousin’s best friend.”   
Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Is this coming from you or Toby?”   
Kyle shook her head slowly. “I haven’t talked to Toby. What did he say?”   
Chris realized he’d probably just made things awkward between the cousins. “Nothing, I just…”   
“Chris, what did he say?”   
“He just rattled off…the same shit you said basically. That you don’t do relationships, you’re not good at them…shit like that.”   
“You know for as little time as I’ve known you, I can already tell you’re a terrible liar.”   
Chris scoffed, his smile shining brightly as the afternoon sun crept in the windows of the restaurant. “He said something about some guy you left in Italy.”   
Kyle sighed. “Antonio. Yes. I figured as much there.”   
“Look ,I didn’t come here to hash out your past or…anything of the like…I came here…to issue you a second chance at the Celtics game tonight,” Chris stated.   
Kyle laughed. “I can’t. I have to work.”   
“She does not,” said a petite red head, bursting out of the kitchen, carrying a case of beer in her arms. “Don’t listen to a fucking word she says.”   
“Hello? What am I doing?” Kyle asked with a laugh, waving the paring knife in her hand in the air. She turned back to Chris. “Chris Evans, my business partner and the enormous pain in my ass, Margo Underwood.”   
“It’s nice to meet you,” Chris stated with a grin, leaning over the bar and extending his hand to shake.   
The girl sat down her case of beer and did the same. “Don’t believe what she tells you. She knows Monday is our slowest night and that me and the rest of the staff are perfectly capable of handling things.”   
“I like her,” Chris said, propping an elbow on the bar as his eyes moved to Kyle. “I think she’s on my side.” Kyle just simply rolled her eyes.   
“Ky, come on. He’s gorgeous. Go to the damn basketball game. I think I’ve got this covered.”   
“She’s right. I am gorgeous.”   
“And modest too,” Kyle laughed. She sighed and set down the knife yet again. “What time is the game?”   
“Eight. I’ll pick you up here at six.”   
“Why six?”   
“Because we can’t go watch the Celtics on an empty stomach. What’s wrong with you, woman?” Chris beamed.   
Kyle shook her head. “You’re not going to let me say no, are you?”   
“Me or her?” Chris asked.   
“Either.”   
“I’m not,” Chris said shaking his head. He turned to Margo, also shaking her head. “She’s not either. Looks like you’re stuck.”   
“Fine. FINE!” Kyle exclaimed as she began laughing. “I’ll go to the stupid game, alright? But this is not a date.”   
Chris shook his head wildly. “No. Not a date. Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re not really my type anyway.”   
“Careful. She has knives,” Margo said out of the corner of her mouth.   
“On that note, I bid you ladies adieu. Until later.”   
“Bye, Chris! Nice meeting you!” Margo called as the movie star began for the door.   
“You too. Kyle, I’ll see soon.”   
“Get out.”   
Chris just laughed and issued a wave as he headed out onto the cold and snowy streets. The second he was gone, Kyle spun to Margo, eyes wide.   
“What the fuck are you doing?” she cried.   
“Helping my best friend get some. Is that so wrong?”   
“I don’t want to get some! Not from him!” Kyle exclaimed. “Do you have any idea who that is!?”   
Margo appeared befuddled. “Um…I know he’s insanely attractive…”   
“That’s Chris Evans. Like…Captain America Chris Evans.”   
“Well…he can Captain my America…”   
“I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean,” Kyle said shaking her head. “Point being: I don’t want to get involved in that. Because…when things go up in flames, like they always do, I don’t need them to make national news as the slut that ripped out Captain America’s heart.”   
“Why are you thinking that far ahead? It’s just a basketball game.”   
“I have to think that far ahead. Plus he’s Toby’s best friend.”   
Margo made a disgusted face. “Why would anyone admit to being Toby’s best friend? Gross.”   
Kyle laughed. “Chris…is a really sweet guy. I don’t want to lead him on.”   
“I don’t think you are because…I know my best friend well enough to know what that sparkle in her eye means…”   
Kyle shook her head. “Don’t do that.”   
“Do what? Ky, come on! We opened this place two years ago, and in those two years you have not once taken a day off, you’ve never called out sick, you’ve never so much as taken a couple hours to go to a damn salon which you desperately need to do by the way…”   
“Fuck off,” Kyle laughed.   
“Just take a night and go out with a gorgeous guy, who is obviously interested in you. At least in having your company,” Margo stated. “Just have fun. I’m not saying sleep with guy, though I don’t think anyone would blame you if you did.”   
“It’s not happening.”   
“You really should. Just to take one for the team.”   
“Shut up, Margo.” 

“God its cold out there,” Chris sighed, rubbing his hands together as he and Kyle headed into his favorite pizza joint in Boston.  
“LA has made you soft.”   
Chris just smiled. “Are you sure pizzas okay? We can go somewhere else…”   
“Pizza’s perfect, Chris,” Kyle assured with a smile. “This is actually one of my favorite places.”   
“Mine too!” Chris exclaimed. “Look at all the shit we have in common.”   
“I know. We both like pizza,” Kyle mocked, raising her eyebrows.   
Chris chuckled. “You’re an asshole.”   
“I think we have that in common too.”   
“Let’s get a table, jerk.” 

“So tell me about Italy,” Chris began as dinner was winding down. “How long were you there?”   
“Five years,” Kyle answered. “At first I went to get away from my mom and college and such, and then I just fell in love with it. The people, the cities, the food obviously. I don’t know if I would’ve left if my dad hadn’t gotten sick.”   
“I’ve never really spent much time in Italy. Press junkets here and there. No time to really enjoy it though,” Chris stated.   
“You should. It’s beautiful.”   
“I’m guessing from the last name, you’re Italian.”   
Kyle laughed. “Yeah. Half. Half Italian, half Irish.”   
“Great. So you’re just one big ball of fucking fire, huh?”   
“You catch on quick,” Kyle smiled.   
“So what else do I need to know about you?”   
Kyle pursed her lips and shook her head. “There’s really not much to know. I’ve led a pretty boring life in comparison to yours.”   
Chris scoffed and shook his head. “Hollywood isn’t as interesting as you’d think. I love the business, I love the work but the rest…the rest I could most definitely live without.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“I don’t know. Some days I think I would rather disappear into the woods never to be seen again.”   
“You have the beard working for you.”   
Chris laughed. “Someday, I’m going to walk away from all of this. Live a normal life again, out of the public eye. Just me, a couple dogs, hopefully a beautiful girl by my side and some little ones.”   
“A family man?”   
“I’d like to be,” Chris stated, nodding his head. “Can’t be a swinging bachelor forever.”   
“You could try.”   
“Eh,” Chris said with an expression that only showed disdain for the idea. “I’m kind of over all of that, honestly. When I first started working, a lot, I moved to LA, I did the whole….going out and scoring with as many girls as I could thing. I grew out of that phase. Not what I want any more.”   
“So you don’t invite every girl back to your apartment for beer and video games?” Kyle asked with a grin.   
Chris chuckled. “No. No definitely not…and I certainly don’t offer just anyone my courtside seats.”   
“Well I guess I should be flattered.”   
“You really should.” The duo just stared at each other for a moment, before Kyle’s eyes took a bit of a flush and she looked away. Chris chuckled and glanced at his watch. “We should get going. Wouldn’t want to miss tip off of the season opener.”   
“Absolutely not,” Kyle agreed. “And…I’m going to warn you now, I tend to get a little rowdy when it comes to basketball.”   
“I can’t wait to see it.” 

“That last call was horseshit,” Kyle growled, tying her hair up into its usual messy bun. “Oh my God, it was awful.”   
“You were not kidding about getting rowdy,” Chris stated with a laugh. “I’m not entirely sure if I was more entertained by the game or you.”   
“I’m sorry,” Kyle said with a laugh. “I warned you.”   
“You did. You did,” Chris laughed. “Still not sure I was prepared for what I actually witnessed. Pretty sure we almost got kicked out of the Garden, but it was fun.”   
“Sad part is, I’m not even drunk.”   
Chris laughed. “We should change that. Let’s go get drinks.”   
Kyle sighed as they arrived to his car. “I should really get home.”   
“Drinks at your place then.”   
Kyle smiled. “You are…nothing if not persistent.”   
Chris nodded. “I’m a pretty patient man.”   
Kyle sighed. “Okay. One drink.”   
“Three.”   
“Two.”   
“Four?”   
Kyle laughed as she opened the door and crawled into his SUV. “You can’t go up. That’s not how bargaining works.”   
“You can’t blame a guy for trying.” 

“Jesus…” Chris practically gasped as he walked into Kyle’s apartment. It was a complex called Park Lane Seaport, right on the water, yards away from the Bank of America Pavilion onsite restaurants a fitness center like the likes of which he’d never seen. The apartment had a foyer for God’s sake. This girl was doing well for herself. “I think your place is nicer than mine.”   
Kyle laughed. “I can’t take credit for this place. Not gonna lie, my dad bought it for me. I think…he felt bad for everything that happened between him and my mom and this was his way of making up for it. I tried to say no, but…”   
“It’s incredible. The view…” Chris said, walking toward the giant windows in the living room. “Wow.”   
“You should see it in the summer when everything comes alive,” Kyle smiled. “I can hear all the concerts, there’s…seating and shit on the roof and fountains and barbeques…it’s kind of insane.”   
“Can I move in?”   
Kyle laughed. “You’d have to ask my roommate to be sure.”   
“You have a roommate?” Chris asked, eyebrow cocked.   
“Give me a second,” Kyle said, disappearing into what he could only assume was the bedroom. Within seconds the door opened and out bounded a young, not yet fully grown pup.   
“Oh my God!” Chris exclaimed, instantly kneeling down as the excited pup ran up to him. “He’s amazing! What’s his name?”   
“Caesar.”   
“Hi Caesar,” Chris said as the American bulldog fell to the floor, exposing his belly to be pet. “Oh my God. You’re adorable. How old is he?”   
“Four months. He’s just a baby.”   
“Oh my God I want to steal him,” Chris stated, completely enamored with the rambunctious puppy on the floor in front of him. “I had a bulldog. His name was East…he was my best friend in the whole damn world. He died last year.”   
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine. I’ve only had this little guy for two months and I already treat him like he’s my kid,” Kyle stated, sitting on the floor in front of him. “You can come play any time you want. He seems to like you.”   
Chris laughed. “Well good. I like him…and his momma.” He glanced up at Kyle as her cheeks flushed and her dark eyes focused on Caesar. “You know…if you don’t want guys to fall for you, you should really stop becoming more amazing by the second.”   
“I’m just me,” Kyle laughed. “Nothing special.”   
“I beg to differ,” Chris said simply. “I’m really glad I met you.”   
Kyle just flushed even further. “How about that beer?”   
Chris laughed as she stood and headed into the nearby kitchen. “You really don’t take compliments well, do you?”   
“I don’t…at all…” Kyle agreed with a laugh. “I am habitually terrible with them.”   
“I’m picking up on that,” Chris said with a laugh. He rose to his feet, picking up Caesar in his arms. “But you should probably get used to it. I don’t picture it ending any time soon.”   
Kyle cracked open the beer bottles in her hand and handed him one as he approached. She pulled herself up to sit on the kitchen counter. “You barely know me.”   
“I know enough,” Chris stated. “Besides, this guy alone is enough to keep me hanging around.” He tickled the pup’s chin before taking a sip of his beer. After a moment he set the dog down and leaned up against the counter beside her. “What’s with this not dating thing? Honestly. Just…lay it all out there.”   
Kyle sighed and took a drink. “Well, I am also habitually terrible at relationships. The second things get serious…I freak out. I can’t explain why. If I could life would be a lot easier.”   
“But you dated the guy in Italy for like four years.”   
Kyle nodded. “Yeah but when he offered to move across the world for me, I lost it.” She paused and shook her head. “My parents divorced when I was a kid. My mom turned into one of those…men hating monsters. I don’t remember the last time she said anything complimentary about any guy.”   
“She didn’t remarry?”   
Kyle took another pull from the bottle. “Uh, no, actually, she became a lesbian. I have a stepmother…”   
“Well there’s a turn.”   
“Yeah that was weird, but she seems to be happy so, good for her. Her wife, Marion, is…the sweetest lady I’ve ever met in my life so…”   
“And your dad?”   
Kyle laughed. “My dad…is a great man. He was not, however, a great husband. He routinely cheated on my mom but…he worshiped me so when they split I…I just became angry. Their divorce was…bitter at best and my mom did everything she could to keep me away from him. To the point that when I got old enough to run away, that’s exactly what I did. I got mixed up in some bad shit in Miami for awhile. Moved in with a boyfriend who was old enough to be my father because, daddy issues, and then when that got to be too much I packed it up for Italy…on my dad’s dime because I was an asshole and felt like he owed me.”   
“I don’t think anyone can blame you for that.”   
“I blame myself enough for everyone around. Trust me.”   
“You’re here now though, taking care of him.”   
Kyle sighed. “I try. If I’m not at the restaurant, I’m in Concord. They put him in hospice the other day so we’re all just kind of…waiting…I guess. Cancer fucking sucks.”   
“It does. I should really get up there. I’d like to see him.”   
Kyle looked at him and smiled. “He’d love that.”   
“Me too. So…let me know the next time you head that way and…I will tag along.”   
“Deal,” Kyle grinned. “Come on. Let’s find something better to do than talk about depressing shit.” She hopped off the counter. “Where’s Caesar?”   
“Oh shit.” 

They had gotten utterly lost in conversation, talking about everything from their childhoods to their hopes and dreams for the future. Caesar had grown tired of them and passed out between their bodies on the sofa as they continued to laugh and carry on.   
“Jesus,” Chris said, glancing at his watch. “It’s five o’clock.”   
Kyle yawned, as if him announcing the time had instantly made her tired. “We’re really good at this staying up all night thing.”  
“We really are,” Chris laughed. “I should get going. I’m supposed to meet my mom in Sudbury at noon.”   
“Well, I’m sorry I kept you out so late,” Kyle apologizing, rising from the couch in unison with the movie star.   
“Don’t be,” Chris argued with a perfectly white smile. “I’m not.”   
Kyle laughed lightly as she followed him to the door. “Once again, I had a lot of fun.”   
“Me too,” Chris said nodding his head. He stopped in front of the door and just stared at her. His heart was beginning to pound in his chest. “I know…this wasn’t a date…but I um…I really want to kiss you right now.”   
“Chris…” Kyle began, but her words were cut off as he did exactly that. Her brain kept screaming at her to fight him as he pressed his lips against hers, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.   
It felt like an eternity had passed before he stepped back, once again a smile glowing. “I’ll call you,” he said softly, before brushing his fingers against her hand and giving it a quick squeeze.   
She just smiled and nodded as he walked out the door and she bolted it behind him. She leaned up against it and sighed as Caesar came trotting toward her. “Don’t look at me like that. This isn’t supposed to be happening,” she said with a sigh before clicking off the light switch. It was definitely bed time, if she could stop her head from running long enough to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Throughout the week, Boston began to warm up to more suitable October weather. The snow began to melt and it felt more like fall. Chris and Kyle hadn’t seen each other since the basketball game but that hadn’t prevented them from falling asleep together on the phone every single night. Kyle was usually the one to pass out first, leaving Chris listening to simply the sound of her breathing before he decided to call it a night himself. Despite her words, the lines were beginning to blur, and not just for Chris. Though a root canal without anesthesia might be easier than getting the chef to admit that.   
“Did you invite him?” Margo asked as she and Kyle prepped for that night’s Halloween party. The restaurant and bar would both be closed as the owners and staff celebrated not only Kyle and Margo’s favorite holiday, but the restaurant’s two year anniversary.   
“Who?” Kyle asked as she put appetizers together in back.   
“The President,” Margo stated sarcastically. “Fucking who do you think? Chris.”   
“No. Why would I?”   
“I don’t know. Because you’re kind of dating the guy?”   
“We’ve been out once,” Kyle laughed.   
Margo chuckled and shook her head. “You’re fucking ridiculous. Why can’t you just admit you like the guy?”   
“I never said I didn’t,” Kyle stated firmly. “I do like him. I just…don’t want to get involved with anyone right now.”   
“So she’s been saying for the last three years…” Margo said with a sigh. “Does he know that?”   
“Yes. We’ve talked about it multiple times.”   
“And…”   
“And he still keeps coming around, I don’t know,” Kyle sighed. She took a deep breath. “I told him I didn’t want things to get confusing.”  
“How’s that working out for you?”   
“Shut the fuck up,” Kyle laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to be out there decorating?”   
“Maybe I’ll just call lover boy and invite him myself…”   
“Do not get involved in this, please.”   
Margo smiled as she looked into the dining room from the kitchen doorway. “Looks like I won’t have to.”   
“What?”   
“He’s here.”   
Kyle just laughed and shook her head. “He is relentless.”   
“Someone’s in lo-o-ove,” Margo sang.   
“Let’s not push it.” Kyle wiped off her hands and then headed into the storefront. She grinned as she was greeted by Chris’s bright smile. “You sure do have a habit of showing up unexpectedly.”   
“What can I say? I missed you,” Chris grinned. “I don’t even get a hug?”   
“You’re so full of shit,” Kyle laughed as she walked toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt her cheeks grow hot as his lips brushed the left one. “So what’re you doing here?”   
“I heard a rumor that there was a big company Halloween party tonight so I wanted to see if you needed any help,” Chris stated.  
“You heard a rumor?” Kyle laughed.   
“Yeah, ya know, the whole little birdie thing.”   
“Mm…and just what is it you think you’re going to help with?”   
“I dunno,” Chris shrugged. “I could do a lot of things. Stock the bar, help with food…costume ideas.”   
“My costume is very taken care of, but thank you,” Kyle stated. She sighed and looked around the empty restaurant. “I don’t know…that there’s really anything…I can have you do…”   
“Nothing…not a single thing?” Chris asked, taking a step closer to her.   
Kyle laughed. “Alright, slick. I see what you’re up to.”   
“Do you?” Chris asked as he smirked, a hand rounding her hip and landing just above her ass.   
“You’re putting off some very strong vibes,” Kyle laughed as he tugged her closer.   
“Pretty transparent huh?” Chris asked playfully, his bright blue eyes zeroing in on her lips.   
“Very,” Kyle giggled. “You are relentless.”   
“And you are worth every fucking second.” Just as he was about to make his move, the kitchen door swung open and Margo walked out.   
“Whoops…” she said with an embarrassed laugh.   
“It’s fine, Mar,” Kyle assured, pulling out of Chris’s grasp.   
“Sorry…I just got a call from the brewery. There was a mix up so they had to redo our order so we need to have someone go pick it up,” Margo explained.   
“Are you kidding me?” Kyle asked. “After how much I paid them I have to go pick up the kegs myself?”   
Margo shrugged. “That’s kind of what I said. But…if we want them here by six.”   
Kyle rolled her eyes. “Great way to do business, guys…”   
“I can do it,” Chris volunteered.   
Kyle shook her head. “No, Chris, you don’t have to…”   
“It’s fine. I’ve got nothing else to do,” Chris stated. “Let me help.”   
Kyle sighed and smiled. “Alright. Fine. You’re in charge of the beer. I’ll go get the order.” She slid her hands into the pockets on her tight jeans and headed back into the kitchen.   
“Her ass is pretty hypnotizing,” Margo said, glancing up at Chris.   
He shook his head and laughed. “Sorry. What?”   
“Exactly,” Margo chuckled. “I gotta say, you’re getting farther in a week than I’ve seen most guys get in a month. Kind of impressive.”   
Chris beamed almost proudly. “I’m just…being me. I like her so, it’s not really hard to want to spend time with her.”   
“Here,” Kyle said, returning from the kitchen and handing him a receipt for the beer order. “The address is on there. We should have four kegs. If they’ve messed something up, call me.”   
“Yes ma’am. Be back as soon as I can.”   
“And Chris?” Kyle called after him as he headed for the front door.   
“Yeah, babe?”   
“Don’t come back unless you have a costume.”   
Chris grinned. “Does this mean I’m invited?”   
“Well…you’re working…and it is a company party.”   
“Do I get to call you boss now? Cuz that’s kinda hot.”   
“Get the hell out of here…and I’m not paying you.”   
“I’ll accept things other than money,” Chris winked as he headed out the door.   
Kyle shook her head and ran her hands over her face. “He is going to break me.”   
“I think he’s trying to,” Margo laughed. 

It was eight o’clock and the party was ready to begin, except it had not gone unnoticed to the men in the room that they were the only ones in the room. None of the ladies were anywhere to be found.   
“What the hell is going on?” Chris’s friend (and Red Sox pitcher) Drake Britton asked. “I think you promised me girls.”   
Chris laughed, moving around the beanie atop his head. It had taken him a good hour to figure out what kind of costume he could throw together on such short notice, but he was pretty proud of himself. Jeans, work boots, the tightest flannel his Captain America arms could fit into, suspenders and a beanie. Chris Evans was a lumberjack. A pretty decent looking one. “Dude, I have no idea. I’m going to be just as disappointed as you are if we just walked into a sausage-fest.”   
“Doesn’t your girlfriend own the place?”   
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Chris said with a smirk before taking a sip from the beer in his hand.   
“But you want her to be.”   
“I’ve known her like a week.”   
“So? You like her.”   
Chris nodded. “I do. I really do. She makes me feel normal. Like…when we talk, we don’t talk about the whole Hollywood thing. We talk about life and…what we want our lives to be. I don’t feel like she’s influenced by the outside. If I picked up and ran off tomorrow, I think she’d be there.”   
“She seems like a good one.”   
“She really does,” Chris said with almost a scoff. “Gives me something worthwhile to focus my attention on.” Just as his last words fell, Britney Spears’ and Will.I.Am’s “Scream and Shout” started blaring over the loudspeakers. “What the fuck…”   
Lights began flashing as if they’d just been transported into a nightclub, and out of the kitchen, each of the women on staff began emerging, all dressed in the various costumes of one Britney Spears. Every man in the room began laughing and catcalling as one by one, Britneys emerged: a school girl, a red cat suit, a ringmaster, a stewardess, some sort of dominatrix, every version of the Pop queen that you could possibly dream off, until only Margo and Kyle were missing.   
“What the hell is going on?” Drake asked, laughing.   
“I have no fucking idea,” Chris said, shaking his head. “But I’m fucking excited.”   
The track playing switched to Spears’ “Stronger” and the kitchen door once again swung open, and out of an unexpected cloud of smoke, emerged Margo in a combination of leather and lace that covered very little of her body: a tight bustier with one lacy sleeve of stripes and the other of flowers, a tiny pair of black shorts, with a black and glitter wrap, that draped over one leg. Not to mention a pair of sky high black boots and the crimpy, curly blonde wig draping down her shoulders.   
“Please tell me that is not Kyle.”   
“That is not. That is Margo, her best friend,” Chris answered.   
“And she is…”  
“Single?” Chris smirked. “Yes.”   
“Perfect.”  
Chris just shook his head as once again the song changed. This time “I’m a Slave 4 U” started. “Oh God…” he mumbled under his breath. “I’m done. I’m dead.”   
“She’s gonna…yep…there it is…”   
Chris looked up as Kyle sauntered out of the kitchen: tiny blue shorts with a skirt flowing just in the back, a top that looked more like a green scarf simply wrapped around her chest, a stuffed white snake draped across her shoulders. “I need Jesus…” he muttered, eyes glued to the beauty before him. “I really, REALLY need Jesus. Fucking save me.”   
Drake laughed as he patted Chris sharply on the back. “Have fun with that, buddy. Damn.”   
Chris rolled his lips over his teeth and bit down as Kyle greeted her party guests. Every once in awhile, she’d glance over her shoulder, they’d lock eyes, he’d shake his head, she’d laugh. He was beginning to think that was as close as he’d get to her that night. But he didn’t care. He could’ve watched her four hours; she WAS basically prancing around in her underwear. It wasn’t until this moment, as she stood, facing away him, that he realized her entire back was covered in a pattern of vines and flowers, inked into her skin. This girl was definitely more than met the eye.   
A few minutes later, she finally strutted her way toward him. “Hi.”   
“Not even fair,” Chris said shaking his head. “Not even remotely fair.”   
“What?” Kyle asked with a laugh.   
“You know damn fucking well what,” Chris laughed. His eyes once again scanned her up and down as she arrived in front of him. “Wow. Ya know…I’ve definitely thought about what you hid under all the jeans and tank tops and chef’s coats, but…I really did not…”   
“Did not what?” Kyle said, hands on her hips.   
Chris breathed heavily, inflating his cheeks with air and then exhaling slowly. “I think you…are trying to kill me.”   
“Aw, never!” Kyle cooed, moving to hug him.   
He shied away. “Don’t. You don’t want to touch me right now. It will be embarrassing for all of us,” he teased.   
“Shut up and hug me,” she commanded, finally getting her arms around his neck.   
Chris wrapped his tightly around her waist, and swayed back and forth a bit. “My God you are fucking hot.”   
“Stop it.”   
“No. No I will not.”   
“Well ya know…I never pictured Britney as much of a lumberjack guy…”   
“But?” Chris asked with a hopeful grin.   
“But Kyle might be.”   
“Yeah?” Chris grinned. Kyle just nodded. “This shirt is insanely tight.”   
“I don’t mind.”   
Chris laughed. “Come on. Let’s get a drink.”   
“How about two?”   
Chris chuckled, and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. “Maybe three.” 

Chris exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke as he and Kyle paced around outside. The restaurant had gotten quite warm with all the drinking and dancing bodies. The crisp air actually felt nice. “Thank you for inviting me,” Chris stated as he took another drag. “I’m having a fucking blast.”   
“Yeah. I think your friend is too,” Kyle said, nodding her head toward the window of the restaurant.   
Chris turned and glanced over his shoulder just to spot Margo and Drake making out in the corner. “Jesus Christ,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Guy moves faster than me. Gotta give him that.”   
Kyle laughed and walked over, leaning up against the railing next to him. “I think you’re doing okay,” she stated, reaching out for the cigarette in between his fingers.   
He licked his lips and handed it over, without a second of doubt. “Maybe I’ll just quit the showbiz thing all together. Stay here permanently. I could get a job here,” he said, jerking his head back toward the restaurant.  
“I hear the owner’s a bitch,” Kyle smiled, taking a drag and handing it back. She exhaled slowly out the corner of her mouth, the smoke rising in a thin stream above their heads.   
Chris slowly began shaking her head. “Nah. She’s dangerously close to the coolest chick I’ve ever met.”   
Kyle slid closer, causing Chris’s arm to drift around her, braced on the fence on the opposite side of her body. “Ya know…I could give you a job…but that would mean we’d probably have to stop hanging out.”   
“Well fuck that then. I’ll go deliver for Dominoes.”   
Kyle laughed. “You’d be a pizza delivery guy for me?”   
“There’s a lot of things I’d do for you,” Chris stated, turning his head and gazing into her eyes. He’d never realized how dark they were before, but at this moment, in the brightly lit Boston night, they looked like black, starry sky. Dark, but sparkling. “How do you do it?”   
“Do what?” Kyle asked softly as their faces, their mouths inched closer together.   
“Get me this wrapped up in a single week?”   
“I didn’t do anything.”   
“I beg to differ,” Chris stated, and once again as his lips neared hers, a shout stopped him.   
“Well, well, well, lookie here!” Toby’s drunk voice shouted as he and his wife Amanda walked toward them. “You guys look cozy.” He glanced at his cousin. “You look like a whore actually.”   
“Hey,” Chris scolded, brow furrowing. “Not cool, man.”   
“What? Isn’t that the point of the costume?” Toby asked, finishing his cigarette and flicking it into the street. “And where’s your ox, Paul Bunyan?”   
“It’s Halloween, man. Where’s your spirit?” Chris asked. “Or you just…went as douche?”   
“Wow…” Toby said with a nod, eyes wide. “Someone’s pissy tonight.”   
“I’m really not,” Chris argued, shaking his head. “You just came in guns blazing. I’m returning the favor.”   
“You’re standing up for her now?” Toby asked with a laugh.   
Amanda sighed, embarrassed by her husband’s words. “Come on, Tob. Everyone’s just trying to enjoy the night.”   
“No, I really wanna know. Six days in, you think you’ve got her figured out, huh?” Toby asked.   
“Don’t do this, man. You’ve been pressing me enough this week. You don’t wanna go there right now with me,” Chris stated, leaning over and pressing out his cigarette in the ashtray beside him. Kyle was oddly silent and Chris knew if he didn’t fight for her, no one would. And honestly he was quite tired of Toby’s interest in whatever the two were, and his growing negativity of the situation.   
“Seriously? You wanna fight me over her?” Toby asked.   
“Just shut your fucking mouth,” Chris stated, shrugging his immense shoulders. “That’s all you gotta do. Just fucking shut up and let her and I do whatever we’re gonna do. It’s really none of your fucking business.”   
Toby then through his attention to Kyle. “How long are you going to lead him on?” he asked. “Let him think he’s actually getting somewhere?”   
“Fuck off, Toby,” Kyle said softly.   
“Seriously though? Another week? Couple months? Maybe you’ll set a new record and go for five years instead of Antonio’s four. It doesn’t matter. Because you’ll break his heart and you fucking know it as well as I do.”   
“Toby, enough,” Amanda commanded, grabbing onto her arm.   
“No, I wanna hear her answer,” Toby said, crossing his arms. “What is it, black widow? How long before you put this one out of his misery?”   
“Fucking enough!” Chris exclaimed, standing up and moving in between Kyle and her cousin.   
“I’m talking to her, man…”   
“No, you’re not cuz you’re not gonna fucking talk to her like that,” Chris stated, firmly.   
“Chris, it’s okay,” Kyle said, setting a hand on the fired up star’s bicep.   
“No, it’s not,” Chris stated, turning his head just slightly to look at her. He turned back to Toby. “You need to get out of here before you really piss me off.”   
“Really, big guy? You’re ready to take this there?”   
“I’m beyond ready.”   
“Okay!’ Kyle exclaimed, jumping up from her ledge. She forced herself in between Chris and Toby who were both obviously more than ready to fight. She faced Chris and pressed a hand against his chest. “Let’s go. Back inside.”   
“Listen to your girl, man. Or whatever she is today.”   
“Fuck you,” Chris snapped, pointing a finger in Toby’s face.   
“We’re done,” Amanda stated, tugging Toby back in the direction from which they came. “We’re going home.” For the first time since their arrival, Toby didn’t argue, but began backing away.   
“Amanda, I’m sorry…” Kyle began.   
“Don’t. We’ll talk later.”   
Kyle sighed as she looked up at Chris who was still just staring down his best friend. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said softly, running her hands down his arms.   
“No, it’s not okay,” Chris argued. “He’s being a fucking dick.”   
“But he’s right, you know? Whatever this is…I’m just going to screw it up.”   
Chris shook his head and smiled. “Well, with that attitude.”   
“I’m serious, Chris,” Kyle laughed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”   
“Why…don’t you let me worry about that?” Chris asked, taking her hand in his. “Because…I am perfectly capable of watching out for myself.”  
Kyle just pursed her lips and shook her head. “You just won’t listen, will you?”   
“Nope,” Chris smirked. “And the more you fight me, the longer I’m gonna hang around.”   
Kyle laughed. “Gotta admire the determination.”   
Chris shrugged. “It’s one of my finer qualities.”   
“Mmm. There’s a list,” Kyle stated, pulling him toward the restaurant door.   
Chris’s eyebrows raised. “Whoa, wait. A list? There’s a whole list? Are the sacred lines blurring?!”   
“Fuck you.”   
“Time and place, babe.” 

Four a.m. The party didn’t end until four a.m. The food was gone, the kegs were empty and the music was off. The only two left: Chris and Kyle and he was waiting for her to change.   
“Where’s Mar?’ Chris asked, standing by the office door where the girl was changing.   
“I think she went home with Drake.”   
“What?”   
Kyle opened the door and remerged in her usual jeans and a grey sweatshirt. “I said…I think she went home with Drake.”   
“Drake doesn’t live here. Drake’s staying with me.”   
Kyle snorted with laughter. “Well…apparently so is Margo.”   
Chris rolled his eyes. “Fuck me. At thirty three, I was really hoping to not deal with the drunken roommate hookup situation…like…ever again.”   
Kyle laughed. “I’m sorry. I really am.”   
“Yeah, the laughter really makes the sympathy just shine through.” Chris sighed. “Come with me. So I don’t have to deal with it alone.”   
“Oh hell no. I live alone for a reason,” Kyle said shaking her head. “Not happening…”   
“Well…then…maybe you should let me come home with you,” Chris stated, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her into him.   
Kyle laughed. “I said the lines were blurring. I didn’t say you were there yet.”   
“I’m just asking for a couch to crash on.”   
“Really?”   
“Mhmm…”   
“Your eyes are saying very different things.”   
Chris just grinned as his tongue ran across his bottom lip. Without a moment of hesitation, he pressed his lips into hers. Instead of fighting him, however, like he was almost certain she would, her arms drifted onto his shoulders, her hands cradling the back of his head.   
He wrapped his arms completely around her and the kiss deepened, her lips parting, his tongue slipping passed and tangling with hers. His heart raced as his hands curved over her round ass, tugging her hips toward his. After an intense few minutes, he finally pried his lips from hers. He smiled brightly, the tips of their noses brushing against each other. “Well.”   
“Well,” Kyle laughed. She sighed. “You’re gonna get me into so much trouble.”   
“You’re gonna love every minute of it.”   
Kyle giggled again. “Come on, movie star. Let’s go.”   
“Your place?”   
“Yes…but you’re still sleeping on the couch.”   
“Goddammit.”   
“There might be more making out involved.”   
“I can settle for that.”


	4. Chapter 4

Kyle trudged groggily out of her bedroom the next morning, expecting to find Chris asleep on the couch where she had left him the night before. After arriving home and sucking down a few more beers (though they were both already quite drunk), they’d settled into the sofa. At first it was much like the other evening: giggles and laughter, stories and talks. But eventually things had grown more heated; hands roaming, tongues lashing. It had taken Kyle all of her self control to pry herself away from him and excuse herself to bed, her own bed. Alone. Even Caesar had decided to stay with Chris on the sofa, and she could hardly blame him. She was getting lost in the bearded, blue eyed Bostonian, and it made her quite uneasy at best.   
When she exited her room, however, she didn’t find Chris passed out on the sofa, or anywhere in sight for that matter. And she didn’t find Caesar asleep at his feet. Just as she began to grow concerned the front door open and in strolled Chris, clutching a brown sack, a tray of coffee and the peppy pup on his bright red leash.   
“What’s all this?” Kyle asked with a laugh, taking the coffee from the man’s hands.   
“Well someone wanted to go for a walk this morning, so…thought I’d grab breakfast on our way back,” Chris answered.   
“You took my dog for a walk and brought me donuts?” Kyle asked with a cocked eyebrow as Chris sat the Dunkin Donuts bag on the counter and pulled off his leather jacket.   
“I did.”   
“What’re you up to?”   
Chris laughed heartily. “Nothing. Being a decent guy?” he retorted, taking a step toward her. He placed his hand on her hip, covered only by a tiny pair of shorts and a much too large sweatshirt and softly pressed his lips into hers. “Morning.”   
Kyle laughed and smiled, her cheeks growing hot and flushed. “Good morning.”   
He sighed and took a seat on the stool at the island between the kitchen and the living room. “What makes you think I’m up to something?”   
“Because most people are,” Kyle stated, pulling a coffee from the tray.   
“They’re both just black. I didn’t know how you take it,” Chris stated.   
“Black is fine…especially after last night.”   
“Things got a bit out hand,” Chris said with a chuckle. “I’ll be feeling this one for awhile.”   
“Mmm. Amen,” Kyle sighed.   
“So you always paranoid about people’s intentions or just mine?”   
Kyle laughed. “It’s definitely not just you. Just kind of how I am.”   
“Well get over it. I’m not trying to get anything. Just…being a good guy.” Chris watched as her dark locks slipped into her face as she shook her head. “So what’re you’re plans for the day?”   
Kyle sighed. “Heading to Concord. I need to see my dad…and I need to call Margo and see if she’ll take Caesar.”   
“You don’t take him with you?”   
Kyle shook her head. “No. All the dander and stuff around my dad isn’t good. His immune system is shot so…”   
“Well…let me take him.”   
“You don’t have to do that.”   
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”   
“Really?”   
Chris chuckled. “Yes , really.”   
“You’re sure?”   
“Jesus Christ, woman, yes!” Chris laughed. “It’ll be fun to have the little guy around for awhile.”   
“I’ll only be gone til Monday morning.”   
“That’s fine. I don’t have anything planned until Tuesday.”   
“What’s Tuesday?”   
Chris groaned. “Um…I have to head to Los Angeles for a couple weeks.”   
“Don’t sound so excited.”   
“Mm. Yes. Excited,” Chris said sarcastically.   
“Can I ask you something?”   
“Shoot,” Chris stated, taking a drink from his coffee cup.   
“If you hate it all so much…why don’t quit?”   
Chris sighed and thought a moment. “It’s not…It’s not that I hate it, really. I mean, I kind of do, parts of it anyway.” He paused. “I don’t know. I got a few things I need to wrap up and then I’m done, at least in front of the camera for awhile.”   
“Marvel stuff?”   
Chris nodded. “One more Cap and two more Avengers and I’m out.”   
“How long’s that?”   
“Two years or so.”   
“Seems like a long time to be doing something that doesn’t really make you happy.”   
Chris laughed. “Do I have to pay for this therapy session or does it come free of charge?”   
“You brought me coffee. We’ll call it square.”   
Chris just smiled and shook his head. “I get such fucking anxiety about this shit. It’s stupid and I know that, but…I mean…I’m not living in poverty or… in the middle of some war torn, third world place. I’m doing pretty fucking well for myself.”   
“But that doesn’t matter if you’re not happy.”   
“You wanna hear the weirdest fucking part? It’ll probably freak you out.”   
“What’s that?” Kyle asked.   
“Here, with you for the last week or whatever…is the most normal I’ve felt in a long fucking time,” Chris stated.   
Kyle smiled. “That’s sweet.”   
“I’m serious. I just…I feel like a regular guy. I feel like you don’t care about any of…the Hollywood, fame shit.”   
“That’s because I don’t,” Kyle stated.   
“That’s why I like you. I’m just some schmuck off the street to you.”   
“Some asshole schmuck.”   
“Asshole huh?” Chris laughed. “Some asshole that bought you breakfast.”   
“Oh well thank you. Should I blow you in gratitude now or later?”   
Chris’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t realize that was an option, but…”   
“Shut the fuck up,” Kyle laughed, tossing a napkin haphazardly in his direction. It more or less just floated to the counter below, but her point was made. “So what happens after you walk away? Behind the scenes? Gone completely? Wedding and babies?”   
“Why? You planning on hanging around that long?” Chris asked.   
Kyle laughed. “Not necessarily sure I meant me.”   
“That’s mildly disappointing” Chris stated as the girl’s cheeks grew pink once again. “Come on! Every girl wants the princess dream wedding, white picket fences, two point four kids.”   
“Not ALL of us,” Kyle argued.   
“You mean to tell me that if you meet and fall madly in love with some SOB, you wouldn’t settle down? You wouldn’t walk down the aisle and do the whole be with him forever thing.”   
“Have to fall madly in love first.”   
“Well I am trying as hard as I can here, girl. Fuck,” Chris teased. “You’re not all that easy to break.”   
“Stop trying to break me.”   
“No, I like trying to break you. I’m just wondering how long this process is really going to take. I don’t usually have to work this hard.” Chris was met with a disapproving glare from Kyle. “Easy, tiger. I’m just kidding.”   
“Well I’m sorry my panties didn’t drop the second you walked into the room.”   
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Chris exclaimed. “That is not at all what I’m saying.”   
“Then what are you saying, Chris?”   
“I was joking! I just got done telling you I like that I have to work. I like that you don’t give a shit who or what I’m supposed to be. I like all of that,” Chris stated. Kyle didn’t even flinch. “You’re about to stab me, aren’t you?”   
“Not immediately.”   
Chris chuckled. “I guess…that’s better than a yes.” He stared at her and sighed. “I am batting straight up fucking zero today, aren’t I?”   
Kyle sighed and shook her head. “No. I was being a jerk. I’m sorry.”   
Chris stood and headed to her on the opposite side of the counter. He put a hand on her waist and turned her to face him. “I’m not…trying to pressure you into…anything. In any way, shape or form. You know that right?” Kyle just nodded. “We’re having fun. We’re getting to know each other and…as of this minute, that’s all I care about. Slow and steady, huh?” She laughed, but nodded once more.   
Kyle could feel her heart start to pound in her chest as his lips neared hers. Her brain was begging him not to kiss her. She couldn’t get any more tied up with this guy. Meanwhile her heart pleaded for the opposite. Her heart won, and as Chris’s fingers, weaved into her hair and his tongue invaded her mouth, she knew it was decision making time. Was she going to stay and continue with whatever this was? Or would it be easier to break is heart now and walk away before it got worse? As he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her some more, pinning her body against the counter behind them, she only grew more confused. Getting out of town was definitely a good idea


	5. Chapter 5

Kyle was exhausted. She’d been in Concord for the last two days. Granted, it was only twenty minutes outside of Boston, but it felt like a different world. She spent nearly all of the last forty eight hours at her father’s bedside. He was barely lucid, rarely spoke. He wasn’t the man she had left behind so many years ago, and it broke her heart. Sitting around, watching, waiting for someone you loved to die was the most painful torture she could think of, and she was right in the middle of it.   
Despite being in what felt like a house constructed of sadness, there was a bright spot to her weekend. And despite her very best efforts to not admit so, it was Chris. He was constantly at the other end of her phone, no matter when she called or what she texted, he responded almost instantly. It had been just over a week since the night they met, yet the only person she felt closer to in this city was Margo. And maybe her father, but in his state, that wasn’t exactly helpful.   
Kyle’s heart (and mind) raced with worry. Worry that he’d get his heart broken, that SHE would. But no matter how much she worried, no matter how much her brain screamed the contrary, she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to talk to him, wanting to see him. His eyes, his smile, those stupid, ridiculously easy to feel safe in arms. She hated what he was doing to her. Her guard was slowly being chipped away and her vulnerability was becoming evident and she hated that most of all.   
She had said goodnight to her father and his night nurse, Rita, before turning on the enormous flat screen television hanging above the fireplace in the living room. There had to be a basketball game, a movie, something to distract her from the energy in this place. But just as her mind began to quiet, and her stomach began to rumble, the doorbell rang out a shrill, classical sounding tune. Confused by the fact that she knew literally no one in this town, she climbed off the couch and headed for the door, definitely not expecting what she found on the other side.   
Kyle smiled brightly as she gazed upon Chris, leather coat, beanie on his head, shit eating grin on his face. “What’re you doing here?”   
“You sounded like you needed some company,” Chris said with a smirk. “Can I come in? It’s a bit chilly out here.”   
Kyle, still smiling, opened the door and allowed him inside. “You drove all the way out here because I sounded like I needed company?”   
“It’s like twenty minutes, woman. Chill,” Chris said with a smirk. He sat down the takeout bag in his hand and extended his arms toward the girl. “C’mere.”   
She wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t. She walked straight into his chest as he wrapped his muscular arms around her shoulders. After a few moments of embrace-induced bliss, a thought hit her. “Where’s my dog?”   
“In the car.”   
“What!?”   
Chris laughed as she slapped his bicep sharply. “Relax! He’s at home with Margo and Drake. He’s fine. You kinda sounded like you needed me more than he did.”   
Kyle closed her eyes and smiled sweetly. “What’d you bring me?” she asked with a grin.   
“That’s all I am to you, huh? A meal ticket?”  
“You’re the one who keeps showing up with food!” Kyle laughed.   
“Ugh. It’s because I’m always hungry. The never-ending Captain America diet,” Chris sighed, kicking off his sneakers and pulling off his coat before heading to the sofa with the bag back in his hand. “Mr. Chang’s. I’m a sucker for…”   
“If you say the duck wontons…”   
“I was totally going to say the duck wontons.”   
“Goddammit,” Kyle trailed after him and sank into the couch. “How do you know all my favorite things?”   
“Because apparently they are also all MY favorite things,” Chris said with a smirk. He stared at her a second as she began pulling Chinese food cartons out of the plastic bag. She was beautiful, even in no makeup, what was probably the oldest Red Sox sweatshirt he had ever seen, and a pair of sweatpants that would have likely fit him better than they fit her. In fact, at this exact moment, she may have been the most beautiful he’d ever seen her.   
It wasn’t until Kyle called him out that he realized quite how long he had been staring. “What?” she asked with a laugh, as she took a carton of chicken fried rice into her lap. “What are you staring at?”   
Chris chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He cracked open some beef and broccoli and sank to the floor, between the couch and the coffee table. Kyle smiled as she watched him and followed suit. “How’s your dad?”   
Kyle shrugged and sighed, sticking some chopsticks into her carton. “I don’t know. No better or worse, I guess. Just…waiting…”   
Chris shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”   
“Do what?”   
“Deal with this…all of it…on your own. I don’t think I could.”   
Kyle once again shrugged. “You don’t know what you’re capable of until you’re forced to find out.”   
“Philosophical too, huh?”   
Kyle just laughed. “I guess. I don’t know. Just kind of doing all of this by the seat of my pants.”   
“You’re doing pretty damn well from what I can see.”   
Kyle smiled crookedly, her cheeks flushing just slightly. “I’ve got some good people backing me up. This one…incredibly handsome guy keeps…showing up uninvited, but I kinda like it.”   
Chris smirked. “You best be talking about me.”   
Kyle grimaced awkwardly. “Well, I wasn’t going to tell you…”   
“Oh! Ouch!” Chris exclaimed. He picked up an wonton from a nearby carton and threw it at her. “Not cool.”   
“I can’t believe you just threw that. That’s like a capital offense.”   
“You were being a jerk.”   
“You cannot throw Mr. Chang’s duck wontons because someone’s being a jerk, Chris. That doesn’t make it okay. NOTHING makes that okay.”   
Chris just laughed. “You really are something, ya know that?”   
“Aw.”   
“What, I haven’t quite figured out yet but…” Chris’s laughter at his own words was interrupted by receiving a throw pillow to the face. “Hey!”   
“That’s how you react to a jerk.”   
“Lesson learned.”   
“Good.”   
“So you wanna have a pillow fight now?”   
“Finish your dinner.” 

He could practically taste the strawberries that her hair smelled like, the disheveled bun atop her head just centimeters from his nose. She was nestled in between his legs on the sofa, reclined against his chest, his arms encircled around her. For the first time since they met, they were sitting in silence, but he was getting more out of this silence than he had in any of their conversations. She clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her sane. The sound of her breathing, the feel of her chest heaving against his, he could think of no place he’d rather be and no person he’d rather be with. He lifted her hand with his, watching as he intertwined their fingers over and over again. He kissed the top of her head and cleared his throat.  
“I should probably get going, babe. Let you get some sleep.”   
He felt her head shake against his chest. “No. Stay.”   
He smiled. “You want me to stay?”   
“I don’t wanna be alone here.” Chris could barely hear her, but he heard enough to know her voice broke as she uttered those words.   
He gulped, setting his chin atop the head he had just kissed. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay, I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.”   
Kyle took a deep breath and sat up, rubbing the palms of her hands against her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”   
Chris chuckled. “Doing what?”   
“Making it impossible for me to stay away from you,” Kyle stated with a heavy sigh. She looked at him, her dark eyes glistening with either sadness or exhaustion, she couldn’t tell which. Neither could Chris. “This is a bad idea.”   
“Then why did you tell me to stay?” Chris asked.   
“Because…despite the fact that I know I am going to ruin this,” Kyle began, “I want you here. More than anything.”   
“Why are you so sure you’re going to screw this up? You have done…nothing wrong this far,” Chris stated. “I think we’re doing pretty okay.”   
“It’s been a week. Give it time.”   
“People…make mistakes, Kyle. That’s not something delegated to just you. Lord knows I’ve made my share, but that doesn’t make this a bad idea. It doesn’t make it wrong.”   
“You don’t understand…”   
“I do understand,” Chris stated. “I understand that you…and Toby…have done nothing but discourage me from the day we met and ya know what else I know? It doesn’t fucking matter what you say. It doesn’t matter…what you think is going to happen. You’re only saying it because you’re scared.”   
“I am scared!” Kyle exclaimed, tears in her eyes. “I’m scared of hurting YOU!”   
“No,” Chris said, shaking his head. “You’re scared of getting hurt, Kyle. That’s why…every time you get closer to me, you back away afterward. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you…and what’s happened in your life.”   
“You don’t know…”   
“Stop,” Chris interrupted, “because I do know. You’ve told me.” He paused as she just stared at him from the opposite end of the couch. “Look, I’m not saying…that this is meant to be. I’m not saying…I’m your happy ending and that we’re…going to be together forever and get married and have kids or any of that. I’m just saying…that maybe it’s worth a chance. Nine times out of ten…relationships don’t work, for whatever reason…but…what if…what if we’re that one, that one that DOES make it. That makes…all the rest of them look like nothing, and we don’t try. Wouldn’t you rather try and feel something than feel nothing for the rest of your life?”   
“I don’t know about that,” Kyle laughed, shaking her head as a single tear began to roll down her cheek.   
Chris laughed at her stubbornness. Only because he knew that despite what her mouth was saying, her heart knew he was right. “Ky, I like you and I’m not just going to go away because you tell me to. Because I know… that whether you say it or not, you like me too.”   
Kyle pursed her lips into a smile just as stubborn as the rest of her. “I never said I didn’t.”   
“Well, you’ve never really said you did either…” Chris said with a chuckle.   
Kyle gulped. That was because if she didn’t say the words aloud, she didn’t have to admit them, but now it seemed as though she didn’t have a choice. “I do…like you…Chris, more than I probably should and it scares the absolute shit out of me.”   
Chris grinned, and leaned toward her, until both of his knees were pressed into the couch below him. “All the good things scare the shit outta you. That’s how you know they’re good.”   
“Chris, I…”   
“Stop,” he commanded, placing his hand on her cheek, his fingers rounding the curve of the back of her head. “You don’t have to be scared of me.”   
“You SHOULD be scared of me.”   
“Too bad I’m not,” he smiled brightly before thrusting his lips passionately upon hers.   
He pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the sofa. Kyle felt positively miniscule under the weight of his carved body. She whimpered into their kiss as his strong thigh found a resting place between her own legs. Her arms wrapped around his chest, hands pawing at his back, every muscle he’d built to play the comic book hero he spent most of the last years of his life as.   
For awhile, her head was begging him to stop. Her mind screaming out about how this would only make things worse. This would only make things harder when everything came crashing down. But her fears were silenced as he continued to kiss her, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth, forcing hers to submit to it’s every will. She could feel her heart racing, pounding, fluttering like a butterfly as if it was trying to escape her chest. The harder the organ in her chest began beat, the more her mind once again began to churn. She pushed him back, pulling their lips apart. She left a smaller peck on his lips to soften the blow. Her cheeks grew hot and bright red as she reached out, brushing her hand over his bearded cheek. “I want you…” she stated softly. “But not tonight. Not here. I’m not in the right place.”  
Chris smiled. “I am perfectly okay with that.” He leaned back toward her, kissing her softly, romantically, his hand warm against her cheek. “Whatever it is we do, we do when you’re ready.”   
Kyle blushed and turned toward his hand, planting her lips softly on the thick of his palm. “You need to stop being so fucking perfect.”   
Chris laughed. “Oh I will. I have no doubt in that. Give it time.”   
“I feel like I’ve said that to you…like a zillion times…”   
“Oh shut up,” Chris commanded tugging her into his arms. “Let’s watch a movie.”   
“I’m just going to fall asleep,” Kyle yawned, tugging a blanket off the back of the sofa and shaking it out to cover them.   
“Then you’re going to fall asleep in my arms.”   
Kyle sighed happily, laying against his chest once again. “I guess that’ll do.”


	6. Chapter 6

Chris awoke in the exact same spot on the exact same couch he had fallen asleep on. The difference, however, was when he awoke, he was alone. He wasn’t quite sure how the girl had managed to escape his arms (and his lap for that matter) without awakening him, but she had, and he found himself a mixture of disappointed and impressed.   
It was Monday. In a few hours, they’d be heading back to the city, she’d be heading to work, and he would be heading home. There was a part of him that didn’t want their little excursion to end. Secluded in the suburbs, away from absolutely everyone and everything, it was kind of nice. It almost made him forget that a few rooms away was a man quite literally on his deathbed.   
Chris took a deep breath and sighed, rising to his feet in search of a bathroom. He found one, a few doors down a long, almost daunting hallway. After relieving himself and splashing a few handfuls of water over his face, he made his way back into the darkened hall. The house was enormous. He’d remembered thinking so when he was little. With all the time that had passed, he’d assumed he’d grown into it. But he hadn’t. It was as if in the last twenty years the house had grown too.   
He couldn’t stop himself from snooping around a bit. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. Every room he looked into was exactly the same as it had been when he was a child. The office, the guest room he remembered camping out for weekends in with Toby. At the very end of the hall, however, he found the one room that had changed. What was once another guest room was now packed with a hospital bed, breathing machine, and various other pieces of medical equipment he couldn't even begin to name. Medicines and blankets and different odds and ends strewn about, it was cluttered, but the focus was in the center of the room. Rick Donato, a man that he remembered as very young, very vibrant, lay in the bed in the center of the room; eyes closed, oxygen mask on his face.   
He couldn’t help himself as his feet carried him closer to the bed. Rick had always been like an uncle to him, despite the fact that they were of no relation whatsoever. The man had never treated Chris any differently than Toby or any other of their childhood friends that had visited the house in the summer. This had been their fun, their castle, and Rick more than willingly obliged every single one of their wishes. He had proven himself to be that uncle that gave them everything they wanted and then sent them packing home to their parents with stories of how incredible it was. It had garnished him a bit of a reputation with some of the parents, not being impressed with how their child gloated of another adult. But Chris’s parents had never minded, never even bucked at the idea. So he’d spent many days of his childhood out on the acre of land surrounding the house, playing whatever sport he and Toby were currently most obsessed with, whatever games their imaginations had drummed up, or following the man of the house around and idolizing him. Chris had to blink back tears as he stared at whom once could’ve been described as his hero in such a weakened state. Instead of athletic and chiseled, the man was now frail and ghostly pale. All of his hair was gone and his veins glowed through the transparency of his skin. Chris was so lost in his thoughts of the past and the jarring visual of the present, he didn’t hear Kyle appear in the doorway behind him.   
He jumped, startled, as he felt her hand wrap around his. “Hey,” he said softly.   
“Hey,” Kyle responded.   
“I shouldn’t have been snooping around. Sorry,” Chris said, clearing his throat with the apology.   
“It’s okay,” Kyle assured, pressing her chin into his shoulder.   
Chris sniffed back the emotion glowing in his eyes and shook his head. “It’s so weird. I mean…I didn’t…”   
“It’s hard to see. I know.”   
Chris turned his head toward her and brushed his lips against her forehead. It was only then he realized she was standing beside him in a sports bra and the shortest shorts he’d ever seen. He chuckled. “What are you wearing?”   
Kyle chuckled. “I was in the gym.”   
“And this is why you’ll always be hotter than me…”   
Kyle laughed. “Come on. I wanna show you something.” She took his hand and led him into the office across the hall that he’d only peered into before. “So…I was looking around a bit the other day and I found something…” She walked behind the desk and grabbed a framed picture from the bookshelf on the wall. She smiled at the photo in her hand and then passed it to Chris.   
Chris chuckled, his eyes falling upon him and Toby, perhaps ten years old, sitting with Rick on the grounds behind the house. “My God…that’s me…”   
“Mhmm…” Kyle nodded with a smile. She took a step closer. “And that…” she said, pointing to an unfamiliar face over Rick’s shoulder,” is me.”   
Chris’s eyes widened as he looked up at her. “Are you serious?”   
“Yeah. Looks like we aren’t quite the strangers we thought we were.”   
Chris smiled. “Ya know…I think I remember you now. Vaguely.”   
“I wasn’t here very long. I think…I was eight when my parents split.”   
“All I remember…is I’m pretty sure…you were my first crush…”   
“Shut up.”   
“I’m serious,” Chris stated, with a chuckle. “Some things never change.” His eyes lifted to Kyle who just blushed in return. “I think…we called you Kylie though.”   
“That’s because that’s my name. I changed it, because I hated it.”   
“Goddammit,” Chris laughed. “I would’ve figured all of this out a lot sooner if you had told me that. I remember Kylie.”   
“Really? Kyle? Kylie? Not all that different, genius.”   
Chris chuckled. “Fair enough. I’ve met…a lot of people since I was…I don’t know…probably ten in this picture. Guess I didn’t even put two and two together.”   
“It’s alright. It took me seeing that to jog the memories too,” Kyle stated. “I think that’s the summer before my parents split…so it probably would’ve been one of the last times we saw each other. I was in Florida before school started that year.”   
“God I was heartbroken when you left.”   
“Stop it.”   
“I’m serious!” Chris laughed. “The only person who knew I had a crush on you was my mom. You can call and ask her. I moped around like the heartbroken ten year old I was for weeks.” He paused and his brows furrowed. “I’m actually surprised she didn’t mention it when I…”   
“When you what?” Kyle asked.   
“When I told her about you,” Chris said, his eyes lifting to hers almost shyly. He was certain his admittance would get a less than enthusiastic reaction from the beauty in front of him.   
Kyle, instead, appeared stunned. “You told your mom about me?”   
He nodded. “I tell my mom everything. She’s my best friend.”   
“I can’t decide if that’s adorable or nerdy as fuck.”   
Chris scoffed. “Both?”   
“Probably,” Kyle nodded. She took the picture that Chris extended to her and set it back on the shelf. As she turned back toward Chris, she found the movie star staring, a bright, enormous grin across his face. “What?”   
Chris shook his head. “Nothing. I just…everything about you makes a lot more sense now. Also explains why we hit it off so fast. Just picking up where we left off.”   
“Yeah…only, what? Twenty two years later?”   
Chris laughed. “Something like that.” He took a step toward her and reached for her hand, locking their fingers together. “I think…the girl I knew, turned out pretty okay though, despite all the bullshit she’s had to put up with.”   
“And you grew into those teeth.”   
“Come on now!” Chris exclaimed as Kyle just giggled hysterically. “I was trying to be nice and…goddammit, woman.”   
“C’mere,” Kyle commanded after her laughter began to die off. She placed a hand on his neck and pulled his face toward hers, their lips instantly fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. After a few minutes of dueling tongues and roaming hands, she pulled back. She smiled, running her tongue across her lips. “Hungry?”   
Chris cocked an eyebrow. “After that, food is pretty much the last thing on my mind.”   
“Shocking, coming from you,” Kyle said with a smirk as she pushed passed him and headed to the door.   
“Ya know…you could try being nice…for like two seconds.”   
“I’m not being mean!” Kyle exclaimed with a laugh. “It’s called being honest!”   
“It’s called being rude!” 

“Those may have been the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten,” Chris stated, wiping his mouth on the napkin in his hand. “Just don’t tell my mom I said that.”   
Kyle smiled, clearing the dishes from the counter. “It’s the nutmeg.”   
“Let me do that,” Chris said, rising from his stool and heading toward the sink. “You don’t need to make breakfast and clean up.”   
“It’s fine. There’s two of us.”   
“Yeah, and I can handle dishes,” Chris stated, edging up to her and pushing her out of the way with his hip. “Go shower or something.”   
“Is that a hint?” Kyle asked.   
“It might be,” Chris smirked. Just as his lips brushed against hers, he heard a throat clearing in the doorway.   
Kyle immediately pulled back and blushed, turning to the woman behind them. “Hey Jean.”   
“Good morning. Didn’t know we had company,” the figure smirked, heading for the fridge.   
“Um, Jean, this is Chris. Chris, this is Jean. My dad’s nurse and…one of few people saving my sanity,” Kyle stated, placing her back up against the counter.   
Chris pulled his hand from the sink and wiped it on his jeans. “It’s nice to meet you,” he grinned, extending his hand toward the woman. She was older, not quite middle aged, but beautiful, with a smile almost as warm as the water in the sink.   
“You too,” Jean beamed. “I didn’t realize Kylie had such impressive friends.”   
Chris chuckled. “I’m really not all that impressive.”   
“My son would disagree,” Jean argued.   
“I made pancakes,” Kyle spoke up. “Feel free to dig in. I think we’re done.”   
“You know how I feel about your pancakes,” Jean stated.   
“I do.”   
“Your dad will be jealous,” Jean winked before pouring herself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be back for them in a little bit. Need to give your dad his meds.”   
The duo stayed silent for a moment after the woman had left before turning back to the dishes awaiting their washing. “She called you Kylie…”   
“Don’t even think about it.”   
“What? I kinda like Kylie.”   
“How much do you like your life because I will end it.”   
“Okay. Kyle it is.” 

“Do I get to see you tonight?” Chris asked as he waited for Kyle to pack up her car.   
Kyle laughed and shut the back door of her SUV. “You don’t think we’ve spent enough time together this week?”   
Chris pursed his lips and shook his head. “I’m about to leave for almost three weeks. I’m going to take what I can get.”   
“Well…I will have to pick up Caesar.”   
“Mhmm, this is true.”   
Kyle sighed heavily. “You know what I hate? Like…really hate?”   
“What?”   
“The fact that I can’t say no to you. I want to…but I can’t. There’s no point even trying.”   
Chris laughed. “So I’ll see you later, then?”   
“Yes,” Kyle groaned rolling her eyes. Chris just chuckled and embraced her tightly. “Thank you.”   
“For what?”  
“Coming out here. It was nice distraction from…everything…”   
“You’re welcome,” Chris smiled, brushing his lips against the side of her head. “Call me when you’re done tonight.”   
“I will.” Kyle watched him as Chris climbed into his truck and backed out of the driveway. It was hopeless. Fighting it, fighting him, was just growing more and more hopeless.


	7. Chapter 7

“So tell me about this girl.”   
Chris smirked as he slouched in his chair outside a Los Angeles restaurant. He’d been in California for almost three weeks now and to say he was getting restless for Boston (and Kyle) wouldn’t be out of the question. But after this lunch, he’d be on his way to LAX and back to his city, and his girl.   
“I dunno, man,” he said with a grin. “What’s to say?”   
His lunch companion (and friend) Chris Pratt chuckled. “I don’t know! Start from the top! Give me the run down! You’re sitting there fucking glowing like a goddamn prick so spill.”   
Evans laughed.”I don’t know what say! We’ve only been seeing each other…well…like a week since I’ve been here for fucking ever.”   
“But you’ve been texting her fucking non-stop,” Pratt retorted.   
“How would you know who I’ve been texting non-stop? You haven’t been with me non-stop.”   
“I’ve been with you enough to know,” Pratt stated. “At least tell me what she looks like.”   
“I can do you…” Evans began as he dug his phone out of his pocket, “one better.” He tapped the screen a few times before turning the screen toward his companion. It was a picture they had drunkenly taken Halloween night. It was, in fact, the only picture he had of her, but it was definitely a good one.   
“Holy shit.”   
“Yeah.”   
“Nice work, bud.”   
Evans chuckled. “I can’t really take much credit. Just got lucky.”   
“She’s gorgeous. I’d say. If I wasn’t a married man…”   
“I’d hurt you,” Evans stated, firmly. “I got a hard enough time getting her onboard.”   
“What the fuck does that mean?” Pratt questioned.   
Evans waved his head back and forth a bit and shrugged. “She’s…hesitant at best. She’s very insistent that she doesn’t do the whole “relationship” thing.”   
“Yet you keep trying?”   
Evans shrugged. “She says it, but…I don’t believe her. I mean…I’m not trying to sound like a fucking prick or anything, but I can tell I’m not the only one feeling things. I’m not fucking stupid.”   
“Matter of opinion.”   
“Fuck off,” Evans laughed. He paused and shook his head. “I just… there’s something about this girl and…I can’t shake it. I don’t even want to. Like…I remember having this huge crush on her when we were kids. I spent…basically every summer at her dad’s house with Toby…and one night, she just…happens back into my life. I didn’t even realize it was the same person until the day before I left and she showed me this picture of us as kids and now…Now it’s just like, I have to try. For that nerdy little ten year old who thought the world of her.”   
“That’s so cute. Did Nicholas Sparks write that?”   
“You’re a real fucking asshole,” Evans chortled.   
“I’m serious, man. That’s some romantic, girly bullshit right there. I love it. I’ll write the screenplay.”   
“Go fuck yourself.”   
“Why don’t you cry a little? I’ll find some tissues,” Pratt continued. He just watched as his friend grinned and shook his head. “In all seriousness though, I hope it works out. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you this jazzed about a lady. I don’t think I ever saw you like this with Mara.”   
Evans rolled his eyes. “Mara… Don’t get me started on that.”   
“How’d lunch go?”   
“Oh, you mean the one where I was simply supposed to sign over the house and be done with all this bullshit?” Evans asked. Pratt just nodded his head as their food was sat down in front of them. “Yeah, she pulled the whole wanting to try again thing. Same shit as last time. Same fucking promises, same fucking excuses.”   
“Tell me you told her to fuck off.”   
“Not in those exact words but yeah. I can’t do it again. We’ve been doing the same shit off and on for four years and I can’t fucking take it anymore. At this point I’d just be doing it to myself.”   
“Ya know, I never really understood what you saw in her,” Pratt stated. “Sure, she was fucking hot but she had the personality of a goddamn wet mop.”   
“She’s the classic party girl, man. All she gives a shit about his publicity and getting fucking wasted. She is the exact opposite of everything I want in a girl.”   
“And this one…this Kyle isn’t?”   
“Not at all,” Evans answered. “She does not give a flying fuck about any of this Hollywood shit, which is one of the many things I like about her.”   
“So she won’t be accompanying you to any red carpet events any time soon?’   
“I think that would take an act of God,” Evans snickered. “If the paparazzi fucks ever snap a shot of her, prepare for fucking war because she will not be happy. I will not be happy. She will make sure I am not happy.”   
Pratt laughed. “I like her already.” 

Kyle stood out the rear entrance of Nosh, cigarette to her lips. “Why does it have to be so fucking cold? Jesus Christ,” she hissed, bouncing around as she took a drag.   
“Um…maybe because it’s almost December in the Northeast?” Margo asked with a laugh. “What d you expect?”   
“Fuck off.”   
“Yeah. Fuck me and my rationality,” Margo chuckled. She sighed. “When’s Chris get home?”   
Kyle took another drag. “Tonight, I think. Why?”   
Margo shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been gone a long time.”   
“Three weeks.”   
“You miss him?”   
Kyle looked at her best friend disapprovingly. “How do you want me to answer that?”   
“Honestly.” Kyle chuckled, but only heaved a sigh. Margo shook her head. “You know, denying it doesn’t make it not real, Ky. Just because you won’t acknowledge them, doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings for him.”   
“I never said I didn’t! Kyle exclaimed. “I’ve never once said I don’t have feelings for him. It’s pretty obvious I fucking do and he knows that. He’s the only one that needs to know that.”   
“So do something about it.”   
“I am doing something about it,” Kyle stated with a laugh. “What do you call what we’re doing? We’ve only known each other a month. Am I supposed to be planning a wedding?”   
“You may be doing a very little something, but you’re still keeping him as far away as you can. I know how you work.”   
Kyle sighed and stamped out her cigarette on the dumpster next to her. “You think you do, but you really don’t. Chris knows exactly how I feel about him and I know exactly how he feels about me. Neither of us have any desire to rush into anything so…we’re just taking it day by day. Alright?”   
“Okay,” Margo said with a smirk. Unbeknownst to Kyle, there was a figure sneaking up behind her. A blue eyed, bearded figure with a finger to his lips.   
“What are you grinning at?”   
“Nothing,” Margot said, shaking her head.   
“You’re full of shi…” Kyle’s words turned into a shriek as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her in the air. “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” She spun around as she was sat down just to come face to face with a hysterically laughing Chris. “You asshole!” she cried, slapping his chest. “You scared the shit out of me!”   
“I’m sorry!” Chris said, still laughing as she slapped him in the arm. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t think I’d get you that bad.”   
“We’re in an alley in Boston, you ass. How did you think I would react?”   
“I was just trying to surprise you,” Chris stated. “Don’t glare at me like that. It’s frightening.”   
“You’re an asshole,” Kyle laughed as he actually wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “When did you get back?”   
“Mmm about twenty minutes ago. Dropped off my luggage and here I am.”   
“Jackass.”   
Chris beamed. “I missed you too, babe.”   
“I did not miss you.”   
“Not even a little bit?” Chris asked.  
“Nope.”   
“I don’t even believe you,” Chris smiled before pressing his lips into hers, firmly. “Hi.”   
Kyle’s cheeks flushed as she laughed. “Hi, jerk.”   
Chris just chuckled and glanced over her shoulder at Margot. “What do ya say Mar? Alright if I steal her for the rest of the night?”   
“Fine by me,” Margot said with a shrug.   
“Do I get a say in this?” Kyle asked.   
“Not at all. Grab your stuff. Let’s go,” Chris commanded.   
“Where are we going?” Kyle asked, heading toward the door.   
“Wherever the night takes us.” 

The night took them to Kyle’s, complete with pizza, beer and video games. It seemed to be their usual thing. Video games or Netflix. Hell they could’ve been playing CandyLand and either would’ve been happy. It was more in the company than the activity.   
“I quit. I’m not playing anything with you anymore,” Chris stated, tossing down the controller in his hand.   
“Why?” Kyle asked with a laugh.   
“Because you fucking beat me at goddamn everything!” Chris exclaimed. “If you weren’t so hot I’d fucking hate you.”   
“Well that’s just rude.”   
“What?” Chris chuckled. “I said you were hot.”   
“Glad to know that’s all I am to you,” Kyle stated.   
“Stop it,” Chris commanded, disapprovingly. “You know that is not it at all.”   
“How was LA?”   
“Nice segue there. Didn’t even notice the topic change.”   
“Fuck you,” Kyle laughed as she rose from the couch. “Beer?”   
“Yes, please.” Chris answered. He sighed and decided to answer her question. “LA was okay, I guess. Finally got some shit taken care of, so that’s good.”   
“What kind of shit?” Kyle asked, returning to the couch, beers in hand. She extended one to Chris while taking a sip of her own.   
“Signed off on the house with Mara. End of the fucking line.”   
“I thought you guys were…”   
“No, no. We are way passed broken up but…we bought the house together so I had to get my name off that shit before she sends it up in flames and I’m held responsible,” Chris stated. “That girl is a fucking train wreck. You ever look back at a relationship and think what the fuck was I doing?”   
“Like…all of them…” Kyle stated.   
Chris laughed. “Well I’m not going to say that but this one is on that fucking list. I wasted four years of my life playing these fucking games with her. Four years. That’s a long time. Especially considering a good portion of it, I knew I wasn’t in the right place.”   
“I know that feeling,” Kyle stated.   
“Antonio?”   
Kyle nodded. “He was a good guy. It wasn’t him. I just…knew it was never going to be more than what it was. I’m not even sure I loved him. Just…didn’t want to be alone. And that sounds horrible. I am a terrible person. Jesus Christ.”   
Chris smiled. “We’ve all done it. Can’t say the last few years of my relationship with Mara wasn’t the same.”  
“Why did you end it?”   
“I, uh, found out she was banging pretty much everyone in LA,” Chris answered.   
“Ouch.”   
“Yeah…real shot to the balls that one. I actually walked in on her with some other dude, on my couch. Just full on going at it. Got an eyeful of another dude’s ass as he pounded my girlfriend so…that was super fucking cool,” Chris said with a sigh. He looked at Kyle who was quite obviously trying not to laugh. “And you’re giggling. That’s awesome.”   
“No, no. It’s not funny. The way you said it though…” Kyle insisted.   
“I’m glad we can laugh together about my suffering. Really solidifies a relationship,” Chris said with a smirk. “You’re like the sweetest person I know.”   
“Stop,” Kyle grinned. “I’m not laughing at you.”   
“Oh but I think you are.” Chris sighed, simply staring at her. “It’s alright. I’m a lot happier right now anyway.”   
“Is that so?”   
“Mhmm,” Chris nodded. “I would rather sit here and get my balls busted by you all night than do…pretty much anything in LA. Pretty much anything anywhere actually.”   
“Aw,” Kyle cooed. “You’re cute.”   
“See I can’t tell if that was sarcastic or…” Chris laughed.  
Kyle chuckled in return, looking at the beer bottle in her hands. Her nails began peeling the label from the glass. “It was definitely not sarcasm, for once.” She gulped and looked up at him. “I’m really glad you’re back. It was really boring here without you. Even though I don’t really like you all that much.”   
“That was a horrible cover.”   
Kyle laughed. “It’s a really good thing I’m not an actress. I’d be fucking terrible.”   
“You obviously haven’t met my ex. She will not be winning any awards any time soon…unless…it’s like one of those adult entertainment awards. She’d be really stellar in that field.”  
“What field?”   
“Whore.”   
Kyle snorted in laughter, nearly choking on the beer she’d just taken a drink of. “Oh my God…that came out my nose. Ouch.”   
Chris burst into laughter. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”   
Kyle laughed and coughed and spit and sputtered. “You just made me choke…ow.”   
“Oh, come here,” Chris smiled, reaching for her face. His thumb wiped the tears running from her eyes. “I really wasn’t trying to kill you.”   
“I don’t even believe you,” Kyle smirked, blinking back the water in her eyes. She looked up to the ceiling and sniffed. “I’m okay. I think I’m okay.”   
“I hope so.”   
“You’re an ass.”   
“I did not do that on purpose. Who knew you’d find my ex being an a plus slut that amusing.”   
“I find the fact that you’re saying this about a woman you owned a house with amusing. I mean, you obviously planned on this being a forever sort of deal. You were going to marry a girl you didn’t even want to be with.”   
“I didn’t say I was going to marry her…”   
“I know you. I know…what you want out of life. If you moved in with her, the thought of settling down with her obviously crossed your mind,” Kyle insisted. She cleared her throat. “So why…keep putting yourself through things that make you miserable?”   
“Hey. I’m here, aren’t I? You don’t make me miserable.”   
“Yet.”   
Chris rolled his eyes. “Do you ever get tired of trying to discourage me?”  
“Nope,” Kyle laughed.   
“You should. It doesn’t do any good.”   
“I’ve noticed.” Kyle took a deep breath. “Have you talk to Toby?”   
“Nope. Not at all. Why? Have you?”   
Kyle shook her head. “No. I’m kind of worried about him.”   
“Why?”   
“I don’t know. This whole thing is just really weird. He’s never been like this. Not with me anyway and I get him being…wary…about you and I but…he’s kind of taking it a bit far.”   
“I agree. I don’t get it either.”  
“I don’t like that I’m coming between the two of you. You’ve been friends way too long to let me ruin it.”   
“Hey. You’re not ruining anything,” Chris argued. “He’s ruining it by being a douche. It’s not your fault.”   
“It feels like it’s my fault.”   
“Well it’s not, so knock it off. If he decides to stop being a dick about it, then things will be fine. Until then, this is the way it is, I guess.” Chris fell silent. He didn’t like it any more than she did. If he could explain why Toby was acting the way he had been, their relationship would be in a much different place. But he knew one thing: he wasn’t willing to give up Kyle just to satiate his friend’s ego. That wasn’t happening. So one way or another, Toby, Chris and Kyle, were just going to have to deal.


	8. Chapter 8

“Up just a bit…”   
“Which side?”   
“The one in your fucking hand, genius,” Margo laughed as she watched Chris attempting to hang a birthday banner in the dining room of Nosh. It was December 28th. Nosh had been closed since Christmas Eve and would remain so until the second of January so that the employees could spend the holidays with their families, and, perhaps more importantly, so Kyle and Margo could get a break. Tonight, however, the crew would be reuniting to celebrate Kyle’s 31st birthday and Chris and Margo were busy setting up for a big surprise party, something they both knew wouldn’t likely sit well with Kyle.   
“Ya know if you’re going to be a dick, you can find someone else to help,” Chris stated. He stretched his muscular arm just a bit higher. “There?”   
“Perfect,” Margo nodded.   
Chris tacked down the corner and hopped of the chair under his feet. “What exactly does Kyle think is going on?”   
“She just thinks we’re having a girls’ night. I’ll tell her we have to swing by here, you all will be here and SURPRISE!”   
“And SURPRISE! She thinks I planned it and punches me in the face!” Chris beamed, heading toward the bar. “She’s going to kill me.”   
“You’re going to be fine,” Margo assured in a bit of a mocking tone. “She likes you too much to kill you.”   
“You sure about that?” Chris asked with a sigh. He sank onto a stool in front of the bar, propping his elbows up on the counter. “Sometimes I wonder.”   
“Why would you say that?” Margo asked. “I think you’re doing pretty damn well.”   
“Some days…I agree…other days, not so much.”   
“Alright,” Margo stated, leaning on the other side of the bar directly in front of him. “Spill, movie star.”   
Chris sighed. “Most days…we are totally fine. I love spending time with her. Like…that’s a given. I adore her. And most of the time I think she feels about me. But then…a couple days later…I feel like we’re just buddies. Fist pumps and high fives. I don’t know. Maybe I’m overreacting.”   
“Considering you spend three nights a week together, I’d go with overreacting.”   
“What if…nothing has happened?” Chris asked, a single eyebrow arched high under the brim of his Red Sox cap. “I mean…not nothing but…not…it…”   
“What do you mean?” Margo inquired.   
“We…haven’t…”   
“You haven’t had sex?” Margo interrupted as Chris awkwardly stammered around.   
“Yeah.”   
“We’re adults, Chris. You can say sex. You’re a big boy.”   
“Fuck off,” Chris laughed. He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to sound like a douche, I’m really not. I mean I’m not trying to pull some high school “if you love me, you’ll fuck me” thing but…it’s a bit concerning at this point. Two months? Endless make out sessions and hands and shit and then…she stops it. I feel like…she’s finds me…attractive enough to make out with but past that, nooooope.”   
“Oh shut up,” Margo laughed. “You’re gorgeous. No one would say no to you.”   
“But she has! Repeatedly!” Chris exclaimed. He paused and ran his hands across his face, tipping his hat slightly off his head. “God. Why am I being such a tool? I sound like an asshole.”   
“You don’t. You just…really like her and are worried she may not reciprocate the same way.”   
Chris sighed, eyes opened wide. “Yeah. That’s definitely a part of it.”   
Margo smiled sweetly. “You are so into her,” she stated with a laugh.   
Chris sighed. “I am. I really fucking am.” He thumped his head against the bar. “I’m so fucked,” he laughed. “Like…it’s been two months. I’m not even sure we’re in a legitimate relationship and I’m in so deep. There is absolutely no point in trying to fight it anymore.”   
Margo laughed. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. The boy was one hundred percent hooked on her best friend. “Look, Kyle is…really weird when it comes to these things, you know that. She honestly probably hasn’t even thought about it, not like you have.”   
“Does that mean I’m the girl in this situation?”   
“Next to Kyle? You actually might be. She is…practically brain dead when it comes to things like this. She really is. I love the girl, but relationships, not her strong suit.”   
“So I’m overreacting?”   
“Entirely,” Margo said with a reassuring smile. She debated how much trouble she would be in if she revealed the current thought rolling around her brain, but decided to do it anyway. “You know she hasn’t slept with anyone since she moved back here, right?”   
Chris arched a single eyebrow, high and in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”   
Margo pursed her plump pink lips and shook his head. “Nope. She has been…completely off the sex train for at least the last two years. I assume she wasn’t with Antonio, but I don’t know. She doesn’t really talk about him.”   
Chris shook his head. He was confused by the red head beauty’s revelation. “How is that even possible? She’s…gorgeous. I mean, she’s incredible inside and out…how has no one even tried?”   
“I’m not saying no one’s tried. I’m just saying no one’s bitten,” Margo argued. “She’s messed around with a couple dudes that I know of. But…it’s not like she really goes out to meet people. I mean come on, you met her HERE. You needed my help to get her to go to a basketball game with you. It’s not like she’s really balls deep in the dating pool.”   
“Well now I really feel like a dick,” Chris stated, still somewhat astonished.   
“Don’t,” Margo argued. “Anyone in your position would feel the same. You just…need to be patient with her and I know that’s hard. She’s a professional tease.”   
Chris chuckled. “She is…but I kind of like it.” He took a deep breath and looked around the room. “Alright. Enough bitching. What’s left to do?”   
Margo sighed. “What ISN’T left?” 

“I don’t understand why I couldn’t just wait in the car,” Kyle said in an annoyed sing-song voice. It was just shy of eight thirty as she and Margo pulled up to Nosh’s backdoor. Why her red haired best friend hadn’t just pulled up in front was unknown, but with Margo it was often easier to go along with her rather than asking questions. Kyle jumped out of the SUV, her black high heeled boots clicking sharply against the cold pavement. She was dressed to impress: black leggings, with sheer mesh sides, a low cut, flowing cream colored tank top, and her favorite motorcycle jacket. Her chocolate hair was down and straight as an arrow, simple winged eyeliner and bright red lips on her face as per usual. She was ready for drinks and the mayhem she and Margo usually created.   
“You know I don’t like being here alone,” Margo stated as the girls approached the back door and Margo struggled to get her key into it. She pushed the heavy door open and walked into the dark kitchen.   
Kyle rolled her eyes, her shoes now clacking against the tiled floor. “I’m here alone all the time. You really need to grow up.”   
“Yes, well, you’re intimidating. No one’s going to fuck with you.”   
Kyle laughed. “Is it weird that I’m only mildly offended by that comment?”   
“For you? Not a bit. Hit the lights.”   
Kyle sighed but obeyed her instructions before following Margo through the still swinging doors and into the dining room. However, once she entered, instead of walking into the expected emptiness, she was greeted by shouts of “Surprise!” and an all-out assault of balloons and party decorations.   
“Oh my God,” Kyle laughed as her cheeks flushed bright red. Her hands clapped together in front of her mouth. “Jesus Christ.”   
“Got you!” Margo squealed excitedly, wrapping her arms around her obviously surprised best friend’s shoulders. “Happy birthday, Kylie!”   
“Do not call me that,” Kyle laughed, turning into her friend’s embrace. “You’re insane.”   
“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out,” Margo stated.   
“I had no idea,” Kyle stated. “Guess my mind is elsewhere.”   
“Like that handsome bastard?” Margo beamed, nodding toward the back of the room.   
Kyle’s eyes followed her best friend’s motion where she found Chris, practically hidden behind all of the other party guests, a coy smirk strewn about his face. She giggled and felt her cheeks grow hot as his blue eyes practically stared a hole right through her. She hated how incredibly gorgeous he looked in a simple pair of jeans and a black sweater. She hated that the stupid smile on his face gave her one twice as big. Most of all, she hated that no matter what her brain was saying at the moment, she couldn’t stay away from him and she definitely didn’t want to.   
“Did you make him help?”   
“I didn’t make him,” Margo stated. “It was actually his idea.”   
“Really?”   
Margo chuckled. “Yes, Kyle. He adores you, whether you like it or not.”   
Kyle could feel her cheeks growing hot once again. “Goddammit, Chris.”   
Margo just smiled and thrusted her hip into her best friend. “Stop being an idiot. Go get him.”   
Kyle sighed, but couldn’t fight the smile on her face. She folded her arms across her chest and started toward the dark haired movie star. She stopped to hug and thank the other guests, smiling and laughing, but never losing sight of the man still stationed at the back of the room. The closer she got to him, the bigger her grin became, until she was practically glowing when she arrived in front of him.   
“So. This was you?” she asked, looking around the room.   
Chris smirked crookedly and shrugged his immense shoulders. “Eh, maybe a bit,” he answered, running his hand over his immaculately parted and slicked back hair. “I’d apologize but I’m really not sorry.”   
“Yeah, I didn’t think you were,” Kyle laughed. “It’s pretty well done.”   
“I thought it worked out.”   
“It did,” Kyle giggled.   
Chris just continued to smirk in her direction as his eyes scanned her body up and down. “You look incredible…as always.”   
“You’re ridiculous,” Kyle sighed.   
“Get over here already,” Chris commanded, jerking his head back.   
Kyle sighed, feigning unwillingness, but walked directly into his arms that instantly wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She sighed contently as she buried her face in his chest. She inhaled deeply, his intoxicating cologne filling her nostrils. She didn’t say a word, just stayed nestled perfectly against his muscular frame.   
“Happy birthday, babe,” Chris stated softly before planting his lips atop her head.   
“Thank you,” she responded just as softly. She pulled her head out of the crease of his pecks and looked up into his blue eyes. Without a second of thought, she stretched her neck just enough to press her lips into his.   
Chris was stunned by her unusual public display of affection, but he definitely didn’t argue it. The kiss she laid on his lips wasn’t just an intimate peck either. It was long and deep, exceptionally passionate for being surrounded by a room full of people.   
After a few more blissful moments, Kyle pulled back, a coy smirk on her face.   
Chris licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Did you…did you just kiss me in front of a restaurant full of people?”   
“I may have,” Kyle smiled with just a hint of a nervous giggle.   
“That’s a pretty big step for you,” Chris said with a bright grin. “I’m…more than a little surprised, pleasantly surprised.”   
“Watch it or I’ll take it back,” Kyle laughed, unclasping her hands from behind his neck.   
“Mmm…I don’t think that’s how this works…”   
“No?”   
“No,” Chris chuckled. He delivered a quick peck on her lips before taking her hand in his. “Let’s get you a drink, birthday girl.” He pulled her close to his side and pressed his lips against the side of her head before they headed to the bar. This night was going to be phenomenal. 

It didn’t take long for the party to get into full swing. Drinks flowing, music thumping, dancing and laughs galore. Things were definitely going well.   
“Is this my Dance Party playlist?” Kyle asked, perched on Chris’s knee at one of the tables.   
“OUR Dance Party playlist,” Margo corrected. “Of course it is! What else would I play?”   
“Kyle! I gotta ask you a question,” Drake suddenly exclaimed.   
Kyle quickly took down the shot on the table in front of her. “Shoot!”   
“If your pants…are completely see through on the sides…what kind of underwear do you wear?”   
Kyle, without taking so much as a beat, spat out. “None.”   
Chris hunched over, choking on the beer he’d just taken a swig of. “WHAT?!” he exclaimed in between coughs. The three companions just giggled hysterically (and drunkenly.) He shook his head. “Oh yeah. We got Chris. Good one, guys. Super hilarious.”   
“I’m not joking,” Kyle said, still laughing, glancing over her shoulder at the handsome man. “Like that was the real answer. None.”   
Chris closed his eyes and shook his head. “What are you trying to do to me?”   
“Nothing yet,” Kyle said with a wink.   
Chris cocked an eyebrow before looking at the other couple at the table. “Is this party over yet? I wanna get outta here.”   
Drake laughed loudly. “Chris is getting laid tonight.”   
Kyle climbed to her feet. “Few more shots and you all might be.”   
Chris just continued to wave his head back and forth as the beauty headed toward the bathroom. “She’s trying to kill me. I’ve never been more certain.”   
“I might have to agree with you,” Drake chuckled.   
“Jesus Christ…” Chris sighed. 

“So…her grinding up on some other guy doesn’t bother you?” Drake asked as the boys leaned up against the bar and the girls danced. The “other guy” he was referring to was Brent, the girls’ head bartender.   
Chris took a swig from the pint glass in his head but shook his head. “Who? Brent? No, God no. Not at all.”   
“Really?” Drake questioned. “Like not at all.”   
Chris laughed, clapping a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Look, it has taken me two months to get to where I am with that girl. There is no way in hell, one dance with one guy is going to change that. I am more than confident in where I stand…”   
“Good for you, man.”   
“Plus Brent would rather take me home.”   
Drake looked to Chris, eyes wide, and then to Kyle’s dancing partner. “Wait. What?”   
Chris chuckled. “Yeah. He’s a great guy. If Kyle wasn’t a factor…”   
“Never woulda called that.”   
“I only know because he dated Scott awhile back,” Chris stated, referencing his little brother. As his sentence ended, his eyes drifted to the girl before him, dancing more than a bit suggestively with Brent and her best friend to Iggy Azalea’s “Work.” He laughed and shook his head. “Dude.”   
“What?”   
“That girl. She…has some fucking hold on me.” He stared and finished off the rest of his beer before turning and setting the glass on the counter behind him. “Alright. I need to…weasel her away from stripper dancing…”   
“Why?”   
“I need to give her a present.”   
“Ew. Here dude? Gross.”   
“Fuck off,” Chris laughed. “I’ll be right back.” The song ended just as he arrived at Kyle’s side. “Hey…”   
“Hey handsome,” Kyle smiled, laying her arms on his shoulders. “You come to dance with me?”   
“No…I need to steal you for a second, if that’s okay,” Chris stated.   
“Um, yeah. Of course. Be right back bitches,” Kyle said with a wave as she took the man’s hand and followed him into the kitchen. “Where are we going?”   
“Outside. I need a cigarette for this,” Chris stated with a laugh.   
“What in God’s name are you doing?” Kyle asked, instantly becoming concerned. She popped into the office and grabbed her jacket before walking out the back door behind him. She reached out to Chris after he lit a cigarette. “Gimme.” Chris shook another from the pack and handed it to her, before extending a light in her direction. Kyle exhaled deeply, arms folded across her chest. “Okay. What’s up?”   
Chris sighed heavily, a mixture of cigarette smoke and hot air clouding the sky above him. “I know…you told me not to get you anything…”   
“Goddammit Chris.”   
“You say that a lot, you know,” Chris chuckled. “Aaaand, I almost listened, but um…then I found something that I couldn’t pass up.”   
Kyle rolled her eyes. “Okay. What is it?”   
“Could you act a bit excited maybe?”   
“Maybe I would if I knew what you’re talking about,” Kyle laughed.   
Chris took a deep breath and reached into his back pocket. With his hand, he brought forth a large white envelope. “Here.”   
“What is it?”   
“Open it and find out.”   
Kyle eyed the man skeptically and stuck the cigarette into her mouth. She slowly, almost skeptically, pulled the flap from the inside of the envelope. She reached in and pulled out a stack of tickets, six of them to be in fact. Chris watched as she read the ticket on the top of the pile and her eyes welled with tears. “Are you kidding?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.   
“No,” Chris said, with a sweet smile. “All yours.”   
In her hand she held tickets to a small, intimate James Taylor concert at Brighton Music Hall that would be taking place on New Year’s Eve. James Taylor was positively her favorite musician, but Chris had no idea the depths as to why. “Oh my God…” Kyle said softly as the tears glimmered in her eye in the streetlight lit night. “You have to be kidding me.”   
“Well since I didn’t anticipate on making you cry…I’m going to say…yes?”   
“No, no, no,” Kyle said with a sniff and a laugh. “It’s a good cry. Um…my first concert…with my dad was seeing James Taylor at Fenway. And, um, at his second wedding we danced to “Something In the Way She Moves.” It’s kind of our thing.”   
Chris pursed his lips together, suddenly understanding the emotion his gift had rendered. “Well, I guess I won’t take them back then.”   
Kyle tossed the remainder of her cigarette into a nearby ashtray and then laughed. “Why are there six of them?”   
“You, me, Margo and Drake and…my friends Chris and Anna are gonna be in town and I thought it’d be fun if they came with. If that’s okay, of course. I mean, they’re yours. You can take…whomever you want.”   
“No, no. That sounds amazing,” Kyle smiled, nodding her head. “It sounds awesome.” She paused and sighed heavily, still amazed. “How did you even get these? This show has been sold out for months. I know, I tried.”   
Chris shrugged his shoulders slowly. “Sometimes being a celebrity has it’s perks.”   
Kyle looked from the tickets in her hand up at Chris. She smiled sweetly and headed toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”   
“You’re welcome,” Chris smiled as his beard brushed the side of her head. “You’re very welcome.”   
“You…are unbelievable,” Kyle said softly, pulling back to stare into his eyes. “Like seriously. I don’t even know what to say right now.”   
“You don’t have to say anything,” Chris smiled, reaching up and brushing her bangs from her face. “Like I said, I had to. They were screaming your name.”   
Kyle beamed before pressing her lips firmly against his, her hands cradling his bearded face as his arms tightened around her. She kissed him, deeper than she ever had before. There was absolutely nothing holding her back in that moment, not her head or her heart. Her tongue waged a heated war against his and she never wanted it to stop. 

 

“Ah! Caesar!” a drunken Chris exclaimed, dropping to his knees in front of the rambunctious puppy as the duo arrived back at Kyle’s apartment after the party had ended. It had gone on for a few more hours, with loads more drinking and dancing. The two shared a pretty heated cab ride back to Kyle’s place, which hopefully would not end up in the tabloid, but at that moment, neither was thinking about it. “Oh my God, I missed you!”   
Kyle just laughed, watching the adorable dog and the equally adorable man. “He missed the dog, but not me,” she sighed, chucking her purse onto the entry way table.   
“Hey, that’s not true!” Chris argued from his spot on the floor. “I missed you both. The dog just seems happier to see me.”   
“Oh shut up,” Kyle laughed. “I’m glad you came here to play with the dog.”   
“Oh I came to play with other things too,” Chris grinned, flexing his eyebrows.   
Kyle rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Jesus Christ. We need to get the dog outside before you, sir, are playing with anything.”   
“I’ll do it,” Chris stated, standing up. “Where’s the leash?”   
“I got it,” Kyle said, opening the nearby closet and bringing forth the red leash.  
Chris pulled it from her hand. “We don’t need to both go out into the snow. It’s cold. You stay here. I can handle it.”   
“Stop being stubborn. I’m going with you.”   
“Why?”   
“Because I wanna make out with you in the snow, ya big idiot,” Kyle sighed as she snapped the leash onto Caesar’s collar.   
Chris pretended to think a moment and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”   
Kyle laughed as he grabbed her hand and drug her to the door. Before long they were indeed outside and making out as fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky around them.   
After a few chilly but definitely heated minutes, Chris’s eyes opened and one fell on the dog, sitting in the snow, staring up at them. “Um…I think he’s watching us…” he chuckled, pulling away from Kyle’s lips. “It’s a little creepy.”   
“He’s trying to figure out why you’re eating his mom,” Kyle stated as Chris burst into a loud and unbridled laughter. “What?”   
“I am too drunk and WAY too turned on for you to say that right now,” Chris said through his giggles.   
“You are like a seventeen year old douche bag.”   
“I really am,” Chris agreed still laughing. Kyle once again rolled her dark eyes and tried to pull out of his arms, but Chris grabbed onto the pocket of her jacket. “Hey, no. Get back over here.”   
“Why’s that?” Kyle laughed.   
“Cuz you don’t get to stop kissing me.”   
“Now…or ever?”   
“Ever,” Chris instantly responded before thrusting his lips upon hers once more. 

Chris’s heart was practically beating out of his chest as his hands roamed the frame beside him. Their seemingly evening long make out session had led them to her dark bedroom, on top of her enormous California King bed. His mind was racing along with the pounding in his chest as their limbs tangled together and mouths ravaged each other’s hungrily.  
“Wait, wait, wait…” he said, pulling back, almost entirely out of breath. “Hold on.”   
“Are you seriously stopping right now?” Kyle asked with a laugh, trying to regulate her own breathing. “Like seriously?”   
“Just…gimme a second,” Chris said with a smirk. “You don’t have to be so critical all the time.”   
“You’re literally seconds away from getting laid. Who are you?”   
Chris laughed. “Look, I just…I want you to be sure. I know…it’s been a really long time…”   
“Ugh. Fuck you, Margo,” Kyle groaned, turning her face into the fluffy pillow under her head.   
“I’m glad she told me!” Chris exclaimed. “I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me.”   
Kyle’s face turned back to him, a cocked eyebrow displaying her confusion. “You’re joking, right? You’re like the most perfect human being on this planet. The fact that we’re TALKING right now just proves that.”   
Chris smiled, his fingers intertwining with hers on the mattress below them. “I just…don’t want you to wake up in the morning, hung over and wondering what the fuck you did, alright? If…you need more time, if you need to wait. I get it. And it’s okay. I’m completely content with…cuddling and making out.”   
“Completely?” Kyle questioned with a smirk.   
“Okay…maybe not…completely,” Chris laughed. “But I’ll do it. Because…I care about you and…I don’t want you to regret anything.”   
Kyle eyed him suspiciously before reaching out and pinching his shoulder. Hard.   
“OW!” Chris shouted. “What the fuck!?”   
“Just making sure you’re real.”   
“Goddammit, woman!” Chris exclaimed. “That hurt!”   
“I think you’ll be alright.”   
“That’s gonna leave a mark.”   
“That’s not the only mark I plan on leaving on you tonight….” Kyle grinned. Chris chuckled and shook his head. “Look…in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I really like you. And I know…maybe sometimes I don’t act like it, but that’s just how I am. I don’t mean it to offend you or hurt you…”   
“I know that. I’m not hurt, Ky.”   
“Good,” Kyle stated, brushing the palm of her hand against his bearded cheek. “I want you. I want…whatever this is…for however long I can have it because honestly…I don’t remember the last time I felt like this about someone. And while that is…insanely frightening for me, I’m also really…REALLY happy.”   
“Yeah?” Chris asked with a crooked grin.   
“Yeah.”   
“I am too.”   
“Good,” Kyle smiled before kissing him sweetly. “Besides, I’ve always heard if a girl’s bra and panties matched, you weren’t the one that planned on having sex that night.”   
“You said you weren’t…” Chris began as Kyle’s eyes widened and jaw dropped open. “LIAR!” Chris shouted, raising to his hands and knees and straddling himself over her petite frame. “You lied to me!”   
“I lied to everyone!” Kyle giggled as his hands began poking and tickling at her incessantly.   
“I don’t give a shit about everyone! You can’t lie to me!”   
“Okay! Okay! I won’t!” Kyle squealed. “Stop!”   
“I had no idea you were so insanely ticklish,” Chris grinned as he continued.   
“Stop it! I’m going to punch you in the face!”   
“You know, I actually believe you,” Chris stated. He stopped tickling and instead used his hands to pin hers above her head in the sea of pillows. He sat up straight and looked around. “Where’s Caesar?”   
“In the living room. Why?”   
“Cuz he doesn’t need to see the things I’m about to do to you.”   
Kyle’s laughter was interrupted as Chris’s mouth encompassed hers once again. Her hands managed to escape his grasp and she curved them around his perfectly chiseled face, mouths hungrily engaging in a battle. Her torso rose from the bed as he tugged the flowing tank up, their lips only separating long enough for him to pull the flimsy shell of fabric over her head and toss it to the ground before once again going to war. As he pressed himself against her, sending her back onto the bed below him, her soft hands drifted up both the sweater and the Tshirt he donned underneath, tugging them from his immaculately sculpted body. She could hardly keep her eyes closed as he kissed her. She wanted to ogle every part of the frame he’d spent so long perfecting. And he had indeed perfected it: sculpted shoulders, enormous pecks, a flat, defined abdomen. Chris Evans was quite the specimen, easily the most gorgeous man she’d ever been with. She’d never been the girl to go for the hottest guy in the room, but this one had seemingly fallen into her lap, and she’d never complain about it.   
Chris pulled away, his heart once again about to beat out of his ribs, but this time he had no intention of stopping. He wrangled his fingers around the waistband of her leggings and pulled them from her frame, Kyle’s ass lifting from the bed as he drug him down her legs. She had indeed lied as the absence of her pants revealed nude toned lace panties to match the enchanting bra adorning her chest. He stopped a moment to gaze at the sight before him. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t pictured her naked, or in her underwear a good many times in the last few months, but now, as she lay beneath him, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was more incredible than any daydream could’ve ever made her out to be. She was enough to take his breath away, as if it hadn’t almost completely stopped at this point anyway. “Jesus Christ…”   
“What?” Kyle asked, her voice now softer, more sensual.   
“You’re…just…unbelievably gorgeous…”   
Kyle smiled sweetly. “Stop it.”   
“No. I will NEVER stop telling you how incredible you are. Ever,” Chris stated, crawling back over her. He brushed the tips of their noses together as her mouth nipped at his. “You…continuously give me those stupid little butterflies. Every fucking time I see you. It scares me a bit…but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”   
“Me either,” Kyle said, her breathing growing shallow as she felt the shape of his hardened cock press into her thigh. She gasped as his mouth crashed into the crease of her neck, eyes rolling back in her head. He had found her sweet spot, without even one failed attempt. As his lips (and beard) continued to caress her neck, collarbone, jaw line, his hands grazed ever so softly against the skin on her arms, down her sides until one hand met the thickness of her thigh and lifted it up from the bed to wrap around him. Though still buried in his jeans, she could feel his member, practically throbbing against her already aching core. She couldn’t keep her own hands from drifting between them, unbuckling his belt, then undoing the button and zipper. Chris sat up just enough for her to pull the dark denim from his hips, and then lifted one leg at a time to escape them. Now the only thing separating them was a layer of lace and another of cotton boxer briefs.   
There was an urgency to the rest of their motions; underwear practically flying from their bodies. Kyle reached to her bedside table, slapping her hand around hurriedly to find the drawer and the condoms she knew were buried somewhere inside. She managed to locate the tiny foil package and ferociously ripped it open with her teeth before once again reaching between their bodies. Chris groaned as her hand rolled the latex onto his more than erect shaft. Her frame slid down on the mattress as she gave him a few more hard, deliberate strokes. Foreplay, however, was not in the cards. Whether it was the months of building or both of their current, still drunken states, the only thing on the agenda was him inside of her.   
“Last chance,” Chris panted. “You’re sure?” Kyle didn’t say anything, just nodded her head, her teeth biting onto her bottom lip. He slowly, gently pressed forward, inserting just the tip of his cock. She winced ever so slightly, but hummed in pleasure as well, so it pushed into her deeper, fully, causing her to yelp out.   
“You okay?” he asked as he pressed his forehead against hers.   
“Yes…” she said breathlessly. Her eyes rolled back into her head as his hips began pulling his cock in and out of her slick opening. She was incredibly wet, allowing him to slide with great ease. Her hands instantly drifted around his chest, her nails digging into the tight skin of his muscular back. “Fuck.”   
“Christ. You’re so tight…” Chris growled. His arms bulged as he braced himself against the pillowy mattress. The long wait and endless teasing throughout the night almost assured he wouldn’t last nearly as long as he wanted, but he was going to do his damnedest to keep his own climax at bay.   
Kyle whimpered as his motions continued, slow and deliberate. With each pass she could feel him in the pit of her stomach, every nerve in her body tingling as he drove himself in and out of her. She brought her back from the mattress so she could kiss him, but it didn’t last long, her mouth more needing to gasp for air that mingle their saliva. Her hand cradled the back of his head as Chris’s forehead pressed into hers. “Fuck. Chris…”   
“You feel so fucking good,” he moaned before kissing her again quickly. He suddenly sat up straight. “Turn around.”   
Kyle didn’t so much as utter a single word of defiance, just did as she was told, ending on hands and knees. Without any form of a warning, Chris entered her from behind and Kyle yelped in sheer pleasure.   
“C’mere,” he commanded. He wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her back against his ripped chest. But the second she was in place, the fingertips that once brushed against her waist ended up between her legs, finding the swollen nub of nerve endings begging for his attention.   
Kyle instantly felt her knees begin to weaken as he not only fucked her, but rubbed her clit feverishly. “Holy shit…” she gasped. She felt his lips hit the top of her shoulders. She turned her head just to eagerly crash her lips into his. The combination of everything that was happening to her body led the first throws of climax to begin rippling through her veins. She whimpered into their kiss then pried their lips apart, her head nestling against his cheek. Her own had reached down, landing on top of his, slowing the motions of his finger tips. Her nerves were on edge as his fingers passed over her bud with a strong, deliberate touch. “Jesus Christ… I’m so…”   
Before Kyle could even finish her sentence, the muscles in her body began to convulse and her eyes darkened with ecstasy. She screamed out his name to the high ceiling as she tried to keep herself from collapsing. Luckily for her, the sounds of her climax were enough to send Chris crashing into a climax of his own. With one, then two last forceful thrusts, he joined her in the drug-like euphoria.   
“Fuck…” he groaned as his forehead hit her shoulder in front of him. His jaw clenched, along with every muscle that built his stoic stature. He held himself completely still, remaining inside of her as his body twitched and muscles contracted and released. He gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat before lifting his head and once again finding her lips ready for his.   
Once every twinge of orgasm had subsided, Kyle removed herself from his cock and turned to face him, the lock of their lips now sweeter, less feverish.   
Chris smiled as he pulled back, his hand holding to the shape of her cheek as if they were puzzle pieces that belonged together. He sighed heavily, finally beginning to regain control of his breaths. “Wow…” he said with a chuckle.   
Kyle laughed in return. “Yeah…wow…” She kissed him, quickly, sweetly. “I need water.”   
“Yeah.”   
One last kiss was left behind before she left the bed, grabbing his abandoned Tshirt from the floor and putting it onto her bare frame. “I’ll get water. You get cleaned up,” she said before exiting the room, attempting to keep Caesar from bounding in.   
Chris knelt on the bed for another moment, trying to wrap his head around what was happening with this woman. As he grabbed his boxers from the floor and made his way to the bathroom, he had never been more certain: he was one hundred percent, without a doubt falling in love with this girl. And he couldn’t help but pray that she felt the same


	9. Chapter 9

He heard the faint creak of a door and a whispered “Go get him” as his eyes slowly began to flutter open. Without even a second to compose himself he felt a thump on the bed and then a puppy’s tongue began lapping at his face.   
“Ah! Goddammit!” he exclaimed, shaking the first bit of morning from his voice. Chris twisted and turned his head, trying to escape Caesar’s artillery of kisses, but it was to no avail. He couldn’t help but laugh like a child as he tried to push the pup away. “Hi. Jesus. Good morning.”   
Kyle laughed as she sank into the bed beside the handsome man. “Someone wanted to say hi.”   
“I fucking guess,” Chris laughed, sitting up and wiping his hand over his slobber covered face as Caesar finally retreated from battle. He shook his head as his mouth opened for a deep yawn. “Woulda been nice to wake up to you.”   
“You want me to lick your face?” Kyle asked, her expression slightly disturbed.   
“You know what I meant. C’mere,” Chris commanded, leaning toward her.   
But as his lips neared hers, Kyle pulled back. “You just made out with my dog. Gross.”   
“You sent him to attack me!”   
“I didn’t know you were going to enjoy it,” Kyle teased. “You’re hair looks really cute right now by the way.”   
“Are you always a dick this early in the morning?” Chris questioned with a laugh, running his hands over his once slicked hair which was now standing on end.  
“I’m just always a dick.”   
“You kind of are,” Chris chuckled, placing a hand on the back of her head and pulling her mouth into his. After a few moments, he released his hold. He looked over her a minute; hair wet, in different clothes. “How the hell long have you been up?”   
“I don’t know…three hours or so.”   
“What time is it?”   
“10:30.”  
“You’ve been up since 7:30?” Chris asked. Kyle just nodded. He shook his head. “Well I obviously didn’t do my job correctly.”   
Kyle laughed. “My hangover involves not being able to sleep. So I went to the gym and took Caesar to the store and made breakfast. Which is currently getting cold. So get up.” She leaned toward him and kissed him quickly. “Meet you in the kitchen.”   
Chris sighed almost dreamily as the beauty got up from the bed and headed back into the lit up living room, her long legs covered only by an enormous sweatshirt and the tiniest pair of shorts. He chuckled to himself before springing from the bed and heading for the bathroom. Today his only plan was her. 

“Jesus Christ, it smells amazing in here,” Chris stated, finally emerging from the bedroom in his jeans and undershirt from the night before.   
“Steak and eggs. Margo and mine’s hangover tradition.”   
Chris smirked crookedly. “You’re bringing me into your tradition.”   
“Not really. I just wanted it.”   
“Ouch.” Chris walked to her side as his eyes scanned the counter before him: two perfectly cooked steaks, eggs, toast, hash browns and orange juice, all with the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling his nostrils. He was amazed. “You just keep all this on hand?”   
Kyle smiled. “No. Pup and I went to the store.”   
“Is it still snowing?”   
Kyle nodded as she picked up a triangle of buttered golden toast. “Mhmm. We’ve gotten like eight inches.”   
“Sweet. Snow day. What’re we gonna do?”   
“You think I’m gonna let you hang around here all day?” Kyle beamed as one of his hands landed on the small of her back.   
“I was hoping so,” Chris stated as she held out the toast in her hand toward him. He took a bite but his eyes never left the lips in front of him.   
“We’ll see what we can do,” Kyle blushed as his lips once again brushed against hers. She was constantly amazed by how perfectly they fit together, like they were in the exact place they were supposed to be. Every time he touched her, hell every time he even looked at her, her entire body grew hot and every nerve tingled with excitement. For at least the time being she had managed to silence all her concerns and fears, but even she wondered how long she could make that last. But for the moment, the only thought in her head was him and she liked it that way.   
Slowly she pulled away, her mouth instantly turning into a broad smile. “Your food is going to be terribly cold.”   
“I’m not too worried,” Chris grinned before delivering a quick, soft kiss once again. “Last night was incredible…and I’m not just talking about the obvious. I had a really great time, all around.”   
“Me too,” Kyle said softly.   
“So it turned out to be an alright surprise?” Chris smirked.   
“Yeah. I think so.”   
“Good…because I would hate…to disappoint you,” Chris stated, his fingers brushing against her hand before they tangled with hers.   
“You haven’t yet.”   
“Let’s see how long I can continue that trend.”   
“Deal.” 

Breakfast (or brunch rather, thanks to Chris’s late awakening) was more than filling and had rendered both parties all but useless. The next few hours were spent curled up on the sofa, talking and laughing, making out and dozing off, kind of watching whatever random movie the channel on the television before them was playing. Nothing had caught the attention of either Kyle or Chris, at least until a familiar opening sequence caught Kyle’s eye.   
“Hey!” she exclaimed as Captain America began on the screen hanging on the wall.   
“No,” Chris stated, shaking his head and searching for the remote. “We’re not watching this.”   
“Why?” Kyle asked in a whiny voice as she stretched away from Chris, remote in hand. “I like this movie. It’s you! Tiny, skinny half of you.”   
“I’m sitting right here. You don’t need to watch me on TV,” Chris stated, easily wrangling the remote control away from the girl. “I hate watching myself.”   
“Why?” she repeated as Chris turned the channel. He left on the movie “Bridesmaids,” which was more than halfway over.   
“It’s weird,” Chris answered with a shrug. “And I’ll just sit here and critique myself which is a bucket of worms you do not want to be in the middle of.”   
“You’re too hard on yourself.”   
“This business will do that to you,” Chris stated with a sigh, turning and leaving the remote on the table beside him. He sank back into the sofa and pulled the brunette back into his arms. “Haven’t exactly made a lot of things I’m proud of.”   
“You’re not talking about Cap though. Cap is amazing. All the Marvel movies are amazing.”   
Chris shook his head. “No, no. I’m good with the Avengers and Cap and…some random others. Snowpiercer, maybe like two more but…other than that…I could take it or leave it.”   
“Not Another Teen Movie?”   
Chris laughed, tipping his head back on the ledge of the sofa. “Oh God. Let’s not get into that.”   
“If you went into that thinking you were going to walk out glowing with pride because of your work, you’re a fucking dunce,” Kyle stated with a laugh.   
“All this coming from the girl who acted like she didn’t know who I was.”   
“Oh I knew who you were right away. I just don’t care,” Kyle corrected. “I’m not some fan girl that’s going to drool all over you because you wore tights and threw a shield. I wanted to know the guy behind the spandex.”   
Chris just shook his head, beaming happily. “Well, you got him. Good, bad or otherwise.”   
“Now, you get Robert Downey Jr. to walk into Nosh and you might see some fan girl.”   
“Ooooh, ouch…”   
“Iron Man is the hottest Avenger. Everyone knows that.”   
“You could at least pretend to be a little biased,” Chris stated with a chuckle.   
“Okay. I’ll at least try to keep my clothes on.”   
“Jesus!” Chris exclaimed, still laughing. “Ya know…I can’t even be mad. I have that same problem when he walks into the room.”   
Kyle giggled and nestled her head against his shoulder. The tips of her fingers found themselves tracing the outlines of his muscles, hidden away under the plain white Tshirt. “Am I going to have to worry about you with your costars?”   
“Do you really think you have to worry about me at all?” Chris asked before brushing his lips against the top of her head. “Because honestly, you haven’t had a thing to worry about since the night we met.”   
Kyle smiled, her cheek still pressed into his fame. “You’re ridiculous,” she said softly.   
“Not at all,” Chris argued. “You just happened to work your magic really fast.”   
Kyle laughed as she looked up into his sky blue eyes. “By kicking your ass at MarioKart.”   
“No that, THAT almost ruined it,” Chris answered with a crooked grin. “Luckily the deal was sealed before that.”   
“You decided you wanted me in one night? Not even a whole night. Like…four hours.”   
Chris pursed his lips and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a man that knows what he wants.” He sighed and reached up, intertwining his fingers with hers that tapped against his chest. “Can I ask you something?”   
“Yeah.”   
Chris gulped. He was more than a little nervous at the words about to come out his mouth. “What…are we?” he asked slowly, dipping his head so his chin rested atop her head, still weaving and unweaving their fingers.   
“What do you mean?”   
“I mean…we’ve been doing this awhile now. So…is it a thing or…are we still just hanging out?” Chris questioned. He heard Kyle laugh. “What? Why are you laughing?”   
“You sound like a nervous teenager,” she stated.   
“I kind of am!” Chris exclaimed. “You make me feel like that kid. It’s kind of unnerving.”   
Kyle once again got lost in his piercing blue gaze. “What do you want us to be?”   
“Honestly?” Chris asked. Kyle just nodded. “I want this…to be a thing. I want to be with you and just you. Not that…I haven’t been, because…I have but… I haven’t even gone out with anyone else…”   
“I know what you mean,” Kyle interrupted with a laugh. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Not calling whatever they were a “relationship” was her last line of defense. Not saying what she knew they both were feeling was the only thing she thought was protecting her, but no matter how hard she tried, it didn’t matter. She knew how he felt and she knew exactly how she felt. “If you’re asking if I’m your girlfriend then…I think… we’re on the same page…”   
“Wait. What?” Chris responded, more than a little surprised. “Are you kidding?”   
“Is that not what you meant?” Kyle asked eyes wide, sitting up and instantly beginning to panic.   
“No, no, baby, that’s totally what I meant,” Chris said with a laugh, placing the palms of his hands against her cheeks. “I just…didn’t anticipate it being so…easy? I guess. You kinda put up a fight against…well…everything…”   
“Okay, okay. You’re kind of ruining the moment.”   
“I’m sorry,” Chris laughed, leaning toward her, arms open. “C’mere.” She laughed slightly and leaned back into his arms, his head turning to press his lips against the side of her head. “This is exactly what I want. Me and you. That’s it. I don’t want anything different than what we already are. I just…want it to be official I guess…God that sounds so incredibly lame.”   
Kyle laughed. “No, you’re alright.”   
“Yeah?”   
“Yeah.”   
“Nailed it,” Chris hissed through gritted teeth, pumping his fist. “I am awesome.”   
“Shut up.”   
“Make me,” Chris grinned, looking down at her. As his eyes drifted closed and their lips brushed together, he felt a rush surge through his body, electricity tingled through every nerve. He had won. He had won the impossible girl. Now he just had to keep her.


	10. Chapter 10

As March began to thaw the frozen ground of Boston, Chris’s remaining time there was growing shorter. By the beginning of April he’d be headed out on a press tour for the latest installment of the Avengers franchise. First it’d be London, then Tokyo, then Sydney, all before back to LA for the US premiere. Immediately following that he’d begin the preliminary work for the next Captain America: fight training and choreography, costume fittings, readings, the whole shebang, after that: filming. All together he’d be gone nearly six months, basically moving back to Los Angeles. He already had an apartment waiting, but regardless, he was none too excited about going back.   
He dropped Kyle off at work that morning. Some days he’d stay behind and help, usually out front with Margo. He’d begun to feel quite at home at Nosh. He got along with everyone that worked there, gotten quite good at making drinks behind the bar, and he absolutely loved watching Kyle. The way she moved around the kitchen, the intensity, passion in her eyes while she worked; it was one of the sexiest things about her, and the longer they were together, the longer that list got. Subsequently the longer they were together; the less he looked forward to leaving. He had three weeks left, and then a week together in Las Vegas with Chris and Anna and then… then no one knew. He more often than not tried to not even think about it.   
On this morning, however, he had his own things to do for the day. So he dropped his girl off and let her get to work. Though work was the last place she should’ve likely been at that moment.   
“Would you please just go home?” Margo sighed, standing across the prep table from her best friend. Kyle was as pale as a sheet with bags under her eyes the size of the empanadas she was currently making.   
“I can’t go home,” Kyle argued, the tone of her voice revealing she was just as exhausted as she looked. “I need to get these done and work on the new menu, and do the order…”   
“I can do the order, Scott can do the prep and you can do the menu from home…”   
“Not really. Don’t have the ingredients.”   
Margo rolled her eyes. “Ky, I love you, but you look like shit. You shouldn’t be here.”   
“I’m fine,” Kyle insisted before she turned from her work and sneezed into her arm. She groaned as she rolled her neck. She was definitely sick: headache, coughing, sneezing, nauseous sick, but she was never going to admit it. She didn’t have time to be sick. It wasn’t a luxury she had, owning one of the most popular restaurants in Boston.   
Nosh had always been pretty successful, but once it circulated around town that Chris was often there, it became insanely popular. His friends, fans wanting to catch a glimpse, paparazzi, even tourists. The restaurant was packed nearly every single night, and both of the owners were starting to run on fumes, Kyle worst of all.   
“You’re not fine.”   
“Would you stop distracting me? If you want me to get this shit done and go home so badly, leave me alone,” Kyle snarled.   
“Yeah, because I’m sure you’ll leave once it’s all finished,” Margo said with a sigh. As she stopped talking she heard a knock on the still locked front door. Confused, she decided to give up on Kyle and head out to see who was waiting.   
Kyle sighed as she half-heartedly went back to work. She knew Margo was right. She was barely functioning at this point, but she was determined to fight through. Or at least attempt to. At his point her head felt like it was too big for her neck so even she wasn’t sure how long she would last.   
The moment she finally got herself focused on the task at hand, a figure swung through the kitchen doors. Assuming it was Margo returning to scold her some more, she kept her head down and continued working, but when the voice spoke, she realized Margo wasn’t who had approached her table.   
“Toby? What’re you doing here?” she asked as she lifted her eyes.   
“We need to talk,” Toby stated, arms folded across his chest. The cousins hadn’t spoken since Halloween. Toby hadn’t tried and Kyle had just felt awkward so nearly five months of silence had gone by.   
Kyle could tell by his tone that this wasn’t going to be a friendly discussion. She sighed and wiped her hands on the towel tucked in her apron strings. “I’m kind of busy right now.”   
“I don’t care. I’m going to say what I need to say and then we’re done,” Toby stated.   
“Fine,” Kyle sighed. “Do your worst.”   
“I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re up to. I don’t know why you seem to think dragging around a guy like Chris is something you need to do, but I’m sick of it. You don’t care about him. You’ve never cared about anyone or anything but you in all of your life,” Toby began.   
Kyle shook her head. “You don’t know me.”   
“I do know you, Kyle. I know you better than anyone in this fucking town. I know how you operate and I know you’re just going to destroy him. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve to be your next Antonio.”   
“You weren’t there! You have no idea what happened between me and Antonio. None. No one does!” Kyle exclaimed. “I don’t know why you think I have some…hidden agenda for being with Chris, but I don’t. He makes me happy, okay? He…gets me…and…he doesn’t try to punish me for my fucking past that he wasn’t a part of!”   
“No one was a part of it because you ran away just like your fucking mother!” Toby exclaimed. Kyle felt as if the knife on the table in front of her had been plunged directly into her chest. “You abandoned your father just like she fucking did! The only thing you wanted from him was money so you could punish him for this horrible childhood you thought you had. But guess what, Ky; no one has that picture perfect childhood. But we all don’t run off to Europe and convince our father to buy us a Goddamn restaurant as retribution!”   
Kyle shook her head. “He didn’t buy the restaurant. I did. Margo and I both did.”  
“Oh come on, Ky! How stupid do you think I am? Where would you have had the money to buy a fucking restaurant?”   
“That’s none of your goddamn business,” Kyle stated, folding her arms across her chest. Though they’re conversation wouldn’t have said so, at that moment if anyone walked in, they would’ve immediately known the duo was related; their posture, the expressions on their face. It was obvious.   
“You’re disgusting. You know that? Your father is dying and all you care about is this fucking place and making sure he pays for wronging you.”   
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kyle growled, though she was beginning to blink back tears from streaming down her face. “I’m at the house all the time. I’m WATCHING him die. Where the fuck have you been and your precious saint of a mother?”   
“Don’t you fucking bring my mother into this,” Toby stated. “We were the ones here when you ran away. My mom tried to stop him from getting sucked into your lies, but he wouldn’t listen. That’s why they don’t speak. YOU are why they don’t speak.”   
Kyle sighed. “Look, I know…I manipulated him before, okay? I was…horrible. I was hurt and I thought that gave me the right, but I’m not like that anymore, Tob. I’m not that girl. I’ve grown up. It was…ten fucking years ago for God’s sake. I had no idea what I was doing!”   
“You manipulate people to get what you want, Kyle. That’s what you do. I just haven’t figured out exactly what you want from Chris yet.”   
“Nothing, Toby. I don’t want anything from him. You can ask him. I tried to push him away, I really did but…” Kyle paused and shrugged. “I care about him, Tob. I really do. I swear to you I am not trying to do anything. I’m not out for anything. I don’t want to hurt him.”   
“But you will. Because that’s what you do,” Toby stated. He took a step closer, his green eyes mere inches away from hers. “And when you get old and you’re on your deathbed, just like your father, there will be no one there beside you. Because you will have ruined every relationship you ever had…just like him, just like your mom. Just wait. You’ll screw it up. Because that is what the Donatos do. Lie and cheat and steal and betray. It’s the family way.”   
“That’s enough,” Margo growled as she pushed through the doors. “Who the hell do you think you are?”   
“Butt out, Margo,” Toby said with a roll of his eyes and snarl of his lips.   
“No, fuck you. This is my restaurant and I’ll be damned if you’re going to come in here and talk to her like that,” Margo stated. “She’s trying to move on with her life. Why don’t you?” Toby opened his mouth to speak, but Margo again interrupted. “No. You’re done talking. Get the fuck out of here.”   
Toby shot Kyle another glare before listening, and marching angrily toward the back door.   
After making sure Toby had indeed exited, Margo turned back to Kyle, standing as still as a statue, more pale than she was before, and trying to disguise the tears her cousin had brought to her face. “Ky, are you okay?” Margo asked, stepping toward her.   
Kyle began nodding her head rapidly, obviously lying. “Yeah. Yeah…I’m fine. But um…I think I am going to take off. I feel like shit.”   
“Ky…”   
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I’m just gonna go…” Kyle untied her apron before darting into the office and away from Margo’s concerned eyes. 

“Hey Mar, what’s up?” Chris answered as he headed out of his apartment for today’s workout. Two months until filming began meant that it was time to get back into Steve Roger’s shape. It was difficult to stay focused on diet and such when your girlfriend was a chef.   
“You need to talk to Toby,” Margo’s voice stated. She was still heated. She wanted to find the man herself and tear him limb from limb, but decided against it. Mostly because of jail time.   
“Why? What happened?” Chris asked, clicking his car unlocked. He climbed in and sat waiting for a response. “Margo. What happened?”   
“He just came in here and…tore Kyle to pieces.”   
“What do you mean? Let me talk to her.”   
“She left. She went home.”   
Chris was taken aback. “She actually left? Is she finally going to a doctor?”   
“She didn’t leave because she’s sick, Chris. She left because your best friend is a giant douche bag,” Margo answered.   
“What did he say?” He regretted the question the instant it came out of his mouth.   
“He basically told her she’s going to die alone like her father because she’ll ruin every good relationship in her life, including yours.”   
Chris’s head hit the steering wheel with exasperation. “Why would he do that? Why would he say that?”   
“Ya know, if I could explain what the fuck was going on with Toby right now I think we’d all be a lot happier,” Margo stated.   
“I know he and Amanda split,” Chris stated with a sigh. “She moved out a couple weeks ago or something. I don’t know. I obviously haven’t talked to him.”   
“Well I think you need to.”   
Chris sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I will. I’m headed to the gym now, but I’ll find him after.”   
“Good. I need to get to work. Bye Chris.”   
“Bye.” Chris ended the call then fired up the car. At least he had some energy to work off now. 

Chris walked into the furniture store Toby ran with a giant chip on his shoulder. Despite thinking his workout would calm him down; it had in fact only made him angrier. That and the fact that Kyle was now only responding to texts with a single word, which was never a good sign. He’d spent a lot of the last five months trying to figure out what was going on with his supposed best friend and he’d come up with nothing. Today, however, he was determined to find out once and for all.   
“Hey Chris!” Toby’s little sister Sarah exclaimed as the man walked in.   
“Hey Sar,” he smiled, wrapping an arm around the petite girl’s shoulders. “Your brother here?”   
“Yeah. He’s back in the office. Go on in.”   
“Thanks.” Chris threw the girl a wink and headed toward the back where Toby was sitting at a desk. The man’s eyes raised the instant Chris walked into the room and his expression seemed more frightened than anything else.   
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Chris asked, pushing the door shut behind him.   
“Chris, look…” Toby began as he stood.   
“No. No, there’s no more ‘Chris, look’,” Chris stated shaking his head. “What is your deal, man? Why can’t you just let us be happy?”   
“She’s just going to hurt you…”   
“You don’t know that!” Chris exclaimed. “You’ve never even taken the time to see us together. You’ve never hung out with us. Fuck, in the last four months, you haven’t even talked to either of us! You have no idea what’s even going on!”   
“No, but I know her…”   
“But you don’t,” Chris argued. “You know her past and you know…what you think you know but…you don’t know her. I know her, Tob and if I’m not worried about it I really don’t understand why you should be.” He just stared at his once partner in crime, sadness evident in his piercing eyes. “I don’t get what’s going on with you. I don’t understand why you’re so involved in all of this. I thought you would be happy! Two people you’re supposed to care about found each other and… fell in love and you’re…upset about it. It doesn’t make any sense.”   
Toby stared at Chris, his eyes wide. “You’re in love with her?”   
Chris hadn’t realized that word had escaped his lips. He hadn’t said it aloud before but now that he had… “Yeah…yeah I do.”   
“And she loves you?”   
Chris shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s actually the first time I’ve said it.” He stopped and shook his head. “That’s not why I’m here.”   
“Why are you here?”   
“Because I want to figure out what’s going on with you. You’ve gone off the fucking deep end lately. I know you’re going through some shit, I know Amanda left…”   
Toby shook his head. “That was my decision.”   
Chris eyed him oddly. “What? You left her?”   
“Yeah. It… wasn’t right for either of us.”   
“You guys have been together since high school. What happened?”   
“It doesn’t matter…”   
“It DOES matter, Toby,” Chris stated. “Something is going on with you and I don’t know what it is but I want to figure it out. I want to help you. You’ve been my best fucking friend since birth, dude. I don’t want us to be like this. I don’t want to feel like we’re fucking…enemies.”   
“You can’t help me, Chris,” Toby stated with a sigh as he sat back down. “There’s nothing that can be done.”   
“I can try! If you just talk to me…”   
“Can you make me not gay?” Toby asked. “Is that something you have the power to change because at this point in time that would be fucking fantastic.”   
“What?” Chris asked, certain he hadn’t heard the man’s words correctly. “What’re you talking about?”   
“I’m gay, Chris. I just…finally got tired of hiding it,” Toby said with a sigh, running his hands over his face. “There’s the big secret. There’s what’s going on with me. I’m thirty three years old and finally decided to be honest with everyone and myself.”   
“Does Amanda know?”   
“Of course she does. She knew before I was willing to admit it. She’s always known,” Toby sighed. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious when your husband refuses to have sex with you because he finds the idea actually repulsive.”   
Chris shook his head and took a seat in the empty chair across the desk. “Why…why wouldn’t you say something? Why would you feel like you have to hide that from me?”   
“It wasn’t about hiding it from you, Chris. I was hiding it from everybody. Including myself. But… it’s not fair to Amanda. She deserves…so much more than I could ever give her. She wants kids and… she deserves to be…with a man that loves her and can give her that and… I mean…we talked about adopting but…it didn’t feel right. I’ve wasted enough of her life.”   
“Toby…”   
“Look, I haven’t really told anybody yet. I’m just kind of getting used to the idea myself so if you could not say anything…”   
“Of course. Of course I won’t,” Chris stated. It was taking him awhile to sift through his thoughts. There were a million things running through his head at once and trying to straighten them out was like trying to untangle all of the chords behind a computer desk. “I still don’t get what that has to do with me and Kyle…”   
“Really? You don’t?” Toby asked, leaning back in his chair and laughing almost nervously. “I would think it would make things pretty fucking clear.”   
Chris just stared in his direction and watched Toby’s eyes widen as if to signal something. Suddenly, almost visibly, a light bulb went off in Chris’s head. “Oh…this isn’t about Kyle at all…”   
“Well, it kind of is. I don’t trust her but…there’s definitely more behind it…” Toby stated. He took a deep breath. “Look, I am fully aware that even without Kyle, I don’t stand a chance, but…”   
“Hold on a second…”   
“Chris, I’m in love with you, okay? I have been…probably since we were kids…”   
Chris stayed silent for a long time. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”   
Toby chuckled. “I don’t expect you to. It was actually Amanda who pointed it out.”   
“When?”   
“Right after Halloween. She said I was acting like a jealous girlfriend.”   
Chris chuckled but began to nod. “Ya know….now that you mention it.”   
“Fuck off,” Toby laughed. He sighed and tipped his head back on his chair. “I really had no intention of this happening today.”   
“You should’ve just said something. I would’ve understood, man. It’s not like I’d be unsupportive.”   
“I know that, Chris. I do. I just…I don’t know. It was easier to go along with the lies I’ve always gone along with. I was trying to convince myself it wasn’t true I guess. I don’t know. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either,” Toby stated. He paused and then looked back at Chris. “She really makes you happy?”   
Chris nodded his elbows on his knees, back hunched over. “Yeah. She really does.” He sighed and sat up. “And…I don’t expect you to just…jump onboard and things go back to normal…”   
“I don’t even think that’s possible after the shit I said today.”   
“Yeah…what the fuck was that?”   
“I don’t know,” Toby answered with a sigh. “My mom called this morning and said she found out Rick changed his will. Kyle gets everything and she was upset and it kind of sent me off the deep end.”   
“He couldn’t have changed it recently. He’s…”   
“No. It was awhile ago, but my mom just found out. And with everything else and…I don’t know. I snapped and I took it out on her,” Toby responded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone over there.”   
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m the one you should apologize to.”   
“Hi. You know Kyle right? You think she’s going to listen to me?”   
“I think you’d be surprised,” Chris answered. “I don’t think she’s the girl you used to know. I really don’t.”   
“I’ll talk to her. I just need some time.”   
“Just don’t let it go too long. She’s family, man.”   
“I know.” Toby gulped. “Can you do me a favor and not tell her? I should probably be the one to do that too.”   
Chris sighed, but nodded. The idea of keeping secrets from Kyle wasn’t exactly something he wanted to do. But this wasn’t his to tell. “I won’t. I won’t say anything. Just…that we talked.”   
“Alright. I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have let it get this bad. I should’ve said something sooner.”   
“It’s alright, man. I get it. I understand,” Chris stated. “Just…promise me you won’t go after her again. Like…I can let go of this right now but…I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it much more.”   
“No. I…completely understand. I’ll leave her alone.”   
“Thank you,” Chris said with a grin. He paused and cleared his throat. “So…can we go back to being friends now? I kinda miss you, dude.”   
Toby rolled his eyes but laughed. “I miss you too…asshole.”   
Chris chuckled as both men stood up and embraced each other tightly. “I’m proud of you,” Chris said softly. “It takes a lot of guts, man.”   
“Thank you.”   
“And I’m here if you need anything. Fuck, talk to Scott. He knows better than anybody.”   
“I will.”   
“Good. Get everything…figured out and…we’ll go grab drinks or something soon. Alright.” Toby just nodded as Chris glanced at his watch. “I gotta get going. Dinner with the family tonight.”   
“Taking Kyle?”   
“No. Mom wanted to invite her but she is sick as shit right now so I’m going alone,” Chris answered.   
“Have they met her yet?”   
Chris shook his head. “No. Kinda scared of pushing that topic.”   
Toby shrugged. “If she’s as into it as you are, shouldn’t be a problem.”   
“Yeah well for some reason, she’s sketchy on the whole family thing…can’t imagine why,” Chris stated sarcastically.   
“Alright, alright. Fair enough. I will…figure out what I’m going to say to her.”   
“Good. Thank you. Have a good night, man.” Chris hugged him once again, tightly.   
“You too,” Toby sighed. He watched as Chris walked out the door. Waving as he passed the window and disappeared back down the hallway. Toby took a deep breath and sighed. Despite how messed up things were, his shoulders felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off. He still didn’t trust Kyle, but if he was going to keep Chris in any way, shape or form, he was going to have to try.


	11. Chapter 11

Chris’s eyes shot open as a shrill tune met his ears. Kyle picked the most annoying, horrible tone for her alarm he could possibly ever think of. She swore it was because she would sleep through anything else, but he was fairly certain she only used it to annoy him. They were polar opposites when it came to sleeping. Chris would’ve preferred not waking before the crack of noon. Kyle, on the other hand, was often up with the sun or even before it. Today was no different.  
“What the fuck are you doing?” Chris groaned, throwing his arms over his still closed eyes.  
“Getting up,” Kyle responded, sitting up and smacking Chris’s assailant into silence.  
“What the fuck time is it?”  
“Six thirty.”  
“You’re insane. Go back to sleep.”  
“I have things to do,” Kyle stated with a laugh as she kicked her legs off the side of the bed. “You can stay here and be a bum all day, but I have to get shit done.”  
“I thought you took today off.”  
“I did. Doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do,” Kyle responded. “I’m running out the new menu for family meal so I have…a ton of prep to get done.”  
“That’s working.”  
“It’s only for the staff.”  
“Still working.”  
Kyle rolled her eyes. “Ya know, I took the next ten days off for you. I’d just consider myself lucky if I were you.”  
Chris smirked, grabbing onto the waistband of her shorts and giving her a tug, sending her back into the bed beside him, her head landing on his chest. “I do. Every day,” he stated, turning to brush his lips against her forehead. “So since you’re not working tonight…”  
Kyle instantly groaned. “Here we go.”  
“What?” Chris asked with a laugh.  
“I know that tone. That tone is you about to ask for something you know I don’t want to do,” Kyle stated.  
“That’s…incredibly accurate actually.”  
“What is it?”  
“Talk to Toby.”  
“Chris,” Kyle sighed, trying to sit up, but of the weight of his arms very purposefully held her down. “I’m not talking about this.”  
“Would you stop for a second? Please,” Chris begged. “He wants to talk to you.”  
“Well I don’t want to talk to him,” Kyle argued. “I don’t have anything to say.”  
“Well, maybe just listen then,” Chris stated. “Look, babe, I know…he was a real douche. I know that, okay? Trust me, but…he was going through some things and…”  
“That’s not an excuse, Chris!” Kyle exclaimed as she finally escaped his grasp. She climbed out of bed and walked to the window, opening the curtains on a barely rising sun. She sighed and rubbed the palms of her hands across her face.  
“I’m not trying to make excuses for him, Kylie. I just…” Chris paused and just gazed upon her for a moment. Her guard was already up; it was evident by the stiffness in her body. It had been two weeks since he’d confronted Toby, two weeks since he’d learned his best friend’s secret and each day it got harder and harder for him not to tell Kyle. He’d finally convinced Toby to talk to her, but she was having none of it. “Would you just talk to him? Please? For me?”  
Kyle turned toward him, arms folded across her chest. “That’s not fair and you know it.”  
“I just want you guys to be okay.”  
“Maybe…we’re not supposed to be okay, Chris. Maybe we’re…not going to ever get along.”  
“I’m not asking you guys to be best friends. I’d just…really like it if my girlfriend and my best friend weren’t at each other’s throats constantly.”  
“If he’s still you’re best friend after all the shit he’s pulled in the last few months, I have some serious concerns.”  
“I’m not just going to throw away twenty years, Ky. So yeah, he’s still my best friend,” Chris stated. He sighed and shook his head. “Would you just…get over here and talk to me for like five minutes? You make me nervous all standing over there in the shadows.”  
Kyle rolled her eyes but smiled, then marched begrudgingly over, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Why is this so important to you?” she asked softly.  
“Because... you guys are family. It shouldn’t be like this, Ky. Especially with everything that’s going on. You guys need each other.”  
Kyle sighed heavily. She couldn’t say no to him. She never had been able to. The fact they were even together right now was evidence of that. “Fine. I will…talk to him, but Chris, I swear to God, he comes at me again…”  
“He won’t,” Chris swore, shaking his head. “I will be there and if he even toes the line, I will take care of it. I promise you.”  
“Fine,” Kyle gave in with a beleaguered sigh. “I will do it, but you sir, are done asking me for favors for a bit.”  
“Deal,” Chris agreed with a smile as he wrapped his enormous arms around her neck. He planted his lips against her cheek. “You’re the best.”  
“I am fully aware.”  
“Oh, you’re gonna get sassy now?”  
“You’re damn right.”  
“It’s alright,” Chris grinned. “It’s kinda hot.”  
Kyle giggled as Chris attempted to pull her into his arms. “Oh no. You’re not getting anything from me,” she stated, escaping his arms and once again climbing to her feet. “I need to get in the shower.”  
“Want some company?” Chris smirked.  
“Go back to sleep, Cap.”  
Chris frowned as she walked out of the room but settled back into the bed, pulling the comforter up over his shoulders. “Don’t have to tell me twice,” he mumbled. 

“You alright?” Margo asked, walking back into the kitchen. “You’ve been really quiet all day.”  
“Yeah,” Kyle stated. “Just…focused.”  
“Um, honey, I know you. I know when you’re focused and I know when there’s something on your mind,” Margo stated. “Come on. Something happen with Chris?”  
“No, no. We’re fine,” Kyle stated. She took a deep breath and stopped chopping the leeks on the cutting board in front of her. “He…wants me to talk to Toby so…I guess…I am going over there after I finish up here and…attempting to work things out.”  
“How do you feel about that?”  
Kyle shrugged. “If it makes Chris happy and gets him off my back at the same time, I’m all for it. I just want to get it over with and not talk about it again.”  
Margo laughed. “You sound so excited.”  
Kyle scoffed and shook her head. “I’m not doing this for me.”  
“You’re doing it for Christopher.”  
“It’s…important to him for some reason, so…yeah. I guess I am.”  
“Aw, look at you!” Margo cooed. “Miss Independent went and fell in love.”  
“Shut up,” Kyle snapped quickly.  
“Uh oh. I hit a nerve, didn’t I?” Margo asked. Kyle just shook her head. “You ARE in love with him, aren’t you?” Kyle still didn’t respond. “Have you told him? Have you said it?”  
“No,” Kyle stated, her eyes suddenly jutting up and toward her best friend. “We haven’t…gotten that far.”  
“Tell him!” Margo exclaimed.  
“Would you stop?” Kyle asked with a nervous laugh. “Just…let it go.”  
“Honey, if you feel it, you need to say it.”  
“Margo, lay off. Seriously.”  
“I’m just saying…”  
“I know what you’re saying!” Kyle exclaimed. “Stop! Please!”  
Margo sighed. She wasn’t going to get anywhere by badgering her, that was more than obvious. “Alright. I’m done. Need help with anything?”  
Kyle shook her head as she went back to her work. “No. I should be done in a couple of hours.”  
  
Kyle had been thinking all day long, trying to think of some excuse to get out of her meeting with her estranged cousin. She didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to sit and listen to whatever sorry excused he’d given Chris for his behavior. She wanted to go home, take a bath and pack for Las Vegas. That was it. Yet here she stood in front of Chris’s door anyway.  
“Hey baby,” Chris greeted with a warm, reassuring smile as he opened the door. He put a hand on her waist and kissed her softly. “How was your day?”  
“Fine,” Kyle answered, glancing over her man’s shoulder and spotting Toby’s head just slightly above the huge sofa in Chris’s living room. “Let’s get this over with.”  
“Don’t go in there ready to fight,” Chris said softly. “It’s not gonna be like that.” He took her hand and led her into the room. “Want a beer babe?”  
“Yeah,” Kyle agreed. She tossed her jacket and purse over the back of a large chair and walked around to take a seat. Toby didn’t even look at her, just pealed the label from his beer bottle and stared at the floor.  
Silence won over until Chris emerged from the kitchen, two beer bottles in hand. He passed one to Kyle before standing in the middle of the room, looking between his two silent houseguests. “I should go pack. Let you two…”  
“No,” Kyle spoke up after clearing her throat. “Sit down.”  
“Ky…” Chris began.  
“Please,” Kyle said simply. Chris obliged, though confused, and took a seat on the end of the couch closest to the girl. “I’m going to…do something I’ve never done and explain the Antonio situation.”  
“Kyle, you don’t have to…” Chris began again.  
“No. I do have to because I’m tired of it being brought up and thrown in my face,” Kyle stated. Chris fell silent and both men’s eyes were glued to the girl as she gulped down the lump forming in the pit of her throat. “When I left Florida, I moved to Vegas. I was there…for maybe a year, worked some job at some posh strip club for the rich dickheads that came into town. I was…a cocktail waitress so don’t go thinking I was throwing around lap dances…” She watched a small smirk stretch across Chris’s face. “Antonio lived in Vegas at the time. He was a higher up for one of the casino chains, in town while they were doing an overhaul. He…took a liking to me. He…started pursuing me…and I gave in. He was older, rich and important and…I was…a twenty four year old gold digger for lack of a better term. We started seeing each other and…awhile down the line I found out he was married with three kids. In fact his wife had just had a baby a few weeks before we met. I…” She took a deep breath. She’d never told anyone exactly what had happened and it wasn’t easy. Her past wasn’t something she was proud of and yet she sat here explaining it to one person who likely couldn’t care less and another who would quite possibly walk away from her when she had finished. “I freaked out. I started threatening that I would tell them. I…completely went off the deep end and when he asked what I wanted…I told him he had to take care of me. Pay for everything, school, house whatever and so he offered to send me to Italy.” She looked at Toby. “It wasn’t my dad. It was…my sugar daddy who paid for my school and my housing and everything. Gave me a stipend every week and I…saved it all up and that’s how I bought the restaurant. Antonio would come in once every few months or so…we’d play house for a couple weeks and then he would leave and go back to his family, like I didn’t exist. And I was fine with it. Until I grew up. Until I looked around and realized that I didn’t have anything that I’d worked for. Everything I had was basically given to me for sleeping with a married man and I decided I was done. I told him that I was moving back here and he…basically offered to end his marriage and come here and we could shack up and…I told him no. I couldn’t do it. I had already violated another woman’s family and I couldn’t be the reason it fell apart. So…I ended it. And I came here and I bought the restaurant and I moved on with my life.” She paused and just looked at the men, both simply staring at her. It wasn’t Toby she was worried about, but the look on Chris’s face, she couldn’t read it and it made her ungodly nervous. “So there’s the whole story. That’s it. My…embarrassing, horrible past in a nutshell.”  
Toby shook his head. “You…you never said…”  
“I never told anyone anything,” Kyle stated. “It’s not something I’m proud of. I was…young and lost and…I manipulated and took advantage of a married man.”  
Toby shook his head. “No. No he…was obviously taking advantage of you.”  
Kyle pursed her lips and shook her head. “No. He loved me. In his own…messed up way. Maybe…it was because I was some sort of trophy, I don’t know. But…whatever it was, I used it to my advantage.”  
“I’m sorry,” Toby stated, looking up at his cousin. “I’m sorry I judged you. I had…no idea.”  
“It’s okay,” Kyle stated. She looked to Chris, who still hadn’t said anything. She felt her heart sink. She was going to lose him. She knew it.  
“Well,” Toby said with a deep sigh. “You’re not the only one with secrets. I, um….” He took a deep breath. “I’m gay, Kyle.”  
Kyle’s eyes widened as her focused moved from Chris for a moment. “What? What are you talking about?”  
Toby laughed. “Yeah. That’s the reaction I’ve been getting. I don’t know. I guess I always have been and…I don’t know. Didn’t want to hide it anymore.”  
A small smile crept over Kyle’s face. “I’m proud of you, Tob.”  
“Thank you,” Toby chuckled. “I think…the reason I acted so poorly toward you and Chris is, maybe I always had a thing for him. I guess it’s not really a maybe. I did. And to watch someone I knew get so close to him…I got jealous and I acted like a dick and I…assumed things that weren’t true instead of just asking you and…I’m sorry.”  
Kyle scoffed and shook her head. “Even if you had asked I probably wouldn’t have said anything.”  
“We are one fucked up family,” Toby said with a laugh.  
“Yeah we are. We always have been,” Kyle laughed.  
“I really wanna try, Kyle. I really want us to be cool. Not even for us, but…for him,” he said nodding toward Chris who just smiled. “He doesn’t deserve to be pulled into the middle of our bullshit.”  
“No. No he doesn’t,” Kyle agreed.  
“Truce?” Toby asked, rising to his feet and stretching his arms out toward her.  
Kyle smiled. “Truce.” She rose to her feet and walked into Toby’s arms, hugging him tightly.  
Toby pulled back and smiled. “I should get going. Let you two get ready for your big vacation.”  
Kyle sighed. “Yeah. I need to go pack.”  
“Have a good time, guys,” Toby smiled as he walked toward Chris.  
“Thanks, man,” Chris grinned, giving him a hug followed by a sharp slap on the back. “I’ll talk to you soon, alright?”  
“Yeah. Night guys.”  
“Night,” Kyle said with a wave as Toby disappeared out the door. She watched Chris pick up his beer and head into the kitchen. He’d finished his while she’d barely taken a drink of hers. She sighed and walked after him. “Are you gonna talk to me?”  
“What do you want me to say?” Chris asked.  
“Look, I know I should’ve said something sooner…”  
“Yeah. You really should’ve,” Chris agreed, grabbing another beer from the fridge and leaning against the counter. “That’s like…a whole chunk of your life you just kind of left out. You never even said you lived in Vegas.”  
“I know. I know. I should’ve said something, I just…” Kyle stopped as her eyes looked around nervously. “I didn’t know what to say and the further along this got…the more I was worried about what would happen when I told you. I was…afraid you’d walk away.”  
Chris looked to her, his face displaying his disbelief. “Kyle, I don’t care what happened five years ago. I don’t care what happened two years ago. Your past doesn’t mean anything to me. What matters is what happens between us. What matters is that…we’re honest with each other. You don’t need to hide things from me.”  
“I know,” Kyle said softly, her eyes drifting to the ground.  
Chris sighed and set his beer on the counter. He walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered softly into the hair on the side of her head. “Just don’t hide things from me. You don’t have to.”  
“I know,” Kyle responded softly, burying her face into his shoulder. She felt warm tears drip onto her cheek. “I love you…”  
Chris smiled broadly. “What was that?” he asked. “I don’t think I heard you.”  
Kyle laughed and looked up. “I think you did.”  
“I don’t know. It was kind of muffled.”  
Kyle took a deep breath. “I said: I love you.”  
“I love you too,” Chris responded quickly before passionately pressing his lips into hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck just as tightly as his did around her waist.  
As their kiss drew on, it only deepened until Chris had the girl pined up against the wall. After awhile, Kyle pulled away and took a deep breath. “I need to go home and pack…” she stated with a breathy laugh.  
Chris’s head slowly began to wave back and forth. “You can pack in the morning. You’re not going anywhere.” He pushed his lips into hers once again, not giving her a second to argue. His hands ran over the curve of her ass, commanding her to lift her legs and wrap them around his waist.  
“Where are we going?” Kyle asked with a laugh as he began walking her in his strong arms toward the darkened hallway.  
“We’re going to bed.”


	12. Chapter 12

She was blinded by the sun the second her eyes opened. She wanted to go back to bed, desperately, but something wasn't letting her. It wasn't until she saw the clock however that she realized exactly what that something was.  
"Shit!" Kyle exclaimed, throwing the comforter back and practically leaping out of bed, awakening Chris with a jolt. "Shit, shit, shit."  
"What?" Chris asked groggily. "The fuck happened?"  
"It's ten thirty," Kyle answered, scrambling about the room, attempting to gather her clothes from the night before. "We overslept. By a lot."  
"Our flights not until two," Chris said calming, folding his arm over his eyes.  
"Yeah and I still have to pack and get Caesar to Margo's on the opposite side of fucking town."  
"Relax, baby. We'll just catch a later flight if we have to."  
Kyle chuckled and shook her head. "You are unbelievable."  
"Well thank you."  
"I'm not sure that was a compliment."  
"Was last night."  
She laughed again. "Would you get up and do something, please? I cannot handle your laziness right now."  
"How bout you crawl back into bed and I do you?"  
Kyle rolled her eyes. "Such a charmer."  
"I'm irresistible really."  
"Oh yes. Most definitely," she sarcastically agreed. "Okay, I'm going to go home and get ready and I'll see you at twelve thirty." No response came. "Chris?"  
Still nothing.  
"CHRIS!"  
She watched him jump and inhale sharply.  
"What?" he whined.  
"Twelve thirty, right?" His response was too mumbled to understand. "What?"  
"I said yes! God! Let me sleep, woman!"  
"If you're late..."  
"I won't be late. I'm basically packed considering most my stuff is in LA already. I will be there at twelve thirty."  
"Okay. I love you."  
"I love you too. Now go away."  
"That's not very nice."  
"Neither is smothering you which is my next move."  
Kyle just laughed and walked to his side of the bed, leaning over and pressing her lips against his. "Bye."  
"Bye," Chris responded as she headed for the living room. All he needed was twenty more minutes. Twenty. That's it. 

 

By some act of God the duo managed to make it to the airport on time and seven hours lager they hit the ground in sunny, and much warmer Las Vegas.  
Once out of baggage claim, then headed to an awaiting town car and were whisked off to The Palms Resort and Casino. Chris clutched onto Kyle's hand As they strolled through the lobby, trying to keep hidden behind sunglasses and a baseball cap,he had no desire to be recognized. This trio was about her, about them.  
"Ugh," Kyle groaned, tossing her purse down as they entered their suite. It was huge: an enormous bed, a living room of sorts with a fireplace, a small kitchenette and a balcony. All things considered it was basically an apartment, but with Chris's star status most would likely call it modest. Comfortable, homey, but not exactLy showy. "Why do I just want to go to bed?"  
Chris chuckled as he pulled off his ball cap and flung it onto the enormous California King bed. "Because you're tired," he stated, running his hands over his smashed down hair. "But we've got dinner in like an hour."  
Kyle pouted as she turned into his arms. "Can't we just stay in and cuddle? Room service, a movie..."  
"We could've done that in Boston," Chris chuckled before kissing her quickly, his arms pinning hers to her side.  
"This was your idea, not mine," Kyle insisted, laying her face against his chest.  
"Ah, come on. You gotta be at least a little bit excited, right."  
"I am...excited to spend the next week with you. I don't care where we are."  
"Mm. Me too, " Chris sighed, brushing his lips against her forehead. "But, I think Chris and Anna would be a bit disappointed that they came all this way and we just exiled ourselves to the room."  
"I think they'd understand."  
Chris just laughed and squeezed her tighter. "I thinK they'd probably be a bit upset."  
Kyle sighed, gulping down a lump that was forming in the depths of her throat. She wasn't sure if it was maybe because she was tired but she was suddenly feeling s bit emotional. "I just keep thinking..." she paused, " after this...you're gone. For a...really, really long time...and it sucks and...to be honest, I'm kinda freaking the fuck out."  
"Hey, hey, hey," Chris said in a soothing tone, pressing his forehead into hers. "Don't do that, okay? It's gonna be alright, I promise you. It is...definitely going to suck and...yeah, it's a bit scary, but...we're gonna be alright. I know it." Kyle just nodded as his blue eyes practically stared a hole right through her. As scared so she was, and as sad as she was already becoming, she believed him. She always believed him.  
"Don't think about it," Chris continued. He chuckled at himself. "I know how stupid that sounds, but try, okay? We've got ten days...so let's just make he most of those and worry about what's next after that."  
"Yeah," Kyle agreed, issuing the man a reassuring smile. "I like that idea."  
"Good," Chris smirked, "cause there are much better things to do in Vegas than mope around and be sad." He kissed her lovingly, his hands cupping her cheeks. "I love you."  
"I love you too."  
"I'm gonna jump in the shower. There's fun to be had."  
Kyle just laughed as she swung at his ass as he headed to his suitcase. "Get going."  
"Get your hot ass ready, girl. It's time to party."  
"Go shower!"  
"Wanna come with me?"  
"Christopher."  
"Alright. Alright. Just thought I'd ask."

"Babe, we gotta go. We're gonna be late," Chris called out, fastening his watch around his wrist. He was beyond excited for their night out; freshly trimmed beard, hair parted and slicked back, a crisp pair of grey jeans and a tight, long sleeved maroon shirt that clung to every inch of muscle hidden underneath it.  
"Two minutes!" Kyle's voice called back from behind the closed bathroom door.  
Chris chuckled to himself. Considering the restaurant was downstairs, it'd be rather embarrassing to be late. Not to mention, waiting on Kyle was entirely new to him. Most of the time he took longer to get ready than she did. She was a no muss, no fuss kind of girl and he liked it that way.  
As he stuffed his wallet into his pocket, he heard the bathroom door click open. At first, he merely glanced over his shoulder but as his love stepped out, his eyes grew wider and his entire body turned to face her, his jaw remaining slightly slack. "My God..."  
"What?" Kyle asked as her cheeks flushed and she tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear. She began shifting her feet almost nervously, her strappy black  
pumps clicking against the hardwood floor.  
Chris chuckled, his eyes still locked on the form in front of him. He was in awe. Usually hidden in jeans or sweats, her long, toned legs were now on full display, only covered by a high waisted, tight, black and white patterned skirt that cut off at the middle of her thighs. There was a thin band of skin between the top of her skirt and the bottom of her loose hanging, cream lace cropped tank. "You...look incredible."  
"Thank you," Kyle smiled, the red of her cheeks nearly matching the red of he lipstick.  
Chris shook his head and stepped toward her. As his hand brushed against the bare skin at her waist, Kyle felt goose bumps shoot down her arms. "Seriously. Absolutely gorgeous."  
Kyle just laughed as he tugged her into him. "Okay. We need to go," she stated.  
"I'm not entirely sure I want to go anywhere," Chris smirked, running his tongue across his lips.  
"You're the one who made me get dressed. We're going."  
"You sure?"  
"Mhmm."  
"We're coming back early."  
"If you say so."  
"Oh, I say so."

"I am so glad we did this," Pratt sighed, sinking deeper into their cushy VIPS booth at Ghost Bar. "I needed a break."  
"It's nice," Chris nodded, sipping on the drink in his hand. Dinner had been delicious, with a ton of story telling and laughter. Chris was incredibly happy with how much his friends enjoyed Kyle and vice versa. In fact, at that moment, Kyle and Anna were somewhere in the sea of people, dancing like lunatics. He sighed deeply. "I am...really happy right now."  
"I can tell, man. You're glowing," Pratt stated. "Like a pregnant lady. Just like exuding this aura..."  
"Shut the fuck up," Evans commanded with a laugh.  
"It's truly magical."  
"Alright alright. I get it," Evans laughed. He paused and took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?"  
"Look, I'm down for a trade but we're gonna have to ask the girls." Evans burst into laughter and Pratt smirked before nodding his blonde head. "Of course you can, man. Ask away."  
Evans gulped, obvious nervous of his own question. "How, um...how long before you knew Anna was...it? I mean, before you knew she was the one?"  
Pratt contemplated a moment. "You want the honest answer or the one that makes me look slightly less crazy?"  
"Honest."  
"Right away. First date."  
"Seriously?"  
Pratt thought again but almost instantly began nodding. "Yeah. I mean...maybe I wouldn't say I knew she was THE one but I knew that it was different. I knew that it felt different. I knew that it was big right off the bat."  
"Fuck."  
"Uh oh," Pratt chuckled. "Someone thinking this is it? This is the big one?"  
"It is...definitely starting to feel like it. I mean... It's been...six months but...goddamn. I get deeper every fucking day."  
"That's a good thing though, right?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, definitely," Evans agreed. He then drifted into his own thoughts. Maybe she was. Maybe Kyle was his one. 

 

Chris laughed as Kyle's lips grazed softly against his neck as she snuggled up to him outside on the Ghost Bar patio. They were surrounded by other club goers, all different levels of drunk, some simply on the patio to escape the heat of the dance floor, others for cigarette breaks and yet others to apparently scream drunken nonsense at their friends and partners.  
"You know there's other people out here, right?" Chris asked, somewhat stunned by the girl's unapologetic display of affection. "This shit's gonna end up in the tabloids."  
"I don't care," Kyle said, cozying herself between his legs as Chris leaned his backside onto one of the tables. "I want the world to know you're mine."  
Chris beamed as she brushed her lips softly against his. "Shout it out, babe. Be my guest."  
"Here? Kinky."  
"You know what I meant."  
"You did promise me we'd go back to the room early..."  
"What? You ready for bed or something?"  
"Or something."  
Chris's eyebrows arched high as he shook his head. "Then by all means, lead the way."  
However, just as Chris rose to his feet and stamped out his cigarette, an unfamiliar voice called out his girlfriend's name. Pratt and Anna had made their exit about twenty minutes before he and Kyle headed outside so who was calling for her had him entirely stumped.  
Kyle turned toward the voice and to Chris's surprise she squealed land darted toward the man who had called her name. He was tall and thin, lanky even, with black hair, shaved on the sides and slicked back on the top. He was scruffy and tattooed, including one on the side of his neck.  
"Logan! Oh my god! Hi!"  
The man laughed, embracing Kyle tightly. "What the hell are how doing here? I thought you were in Italy."  
"No. I've been in Boston for almost three years now," Kyle answered. "What're you doing here?"  
"I deejay here now. Go on at twelve."  
"That's amazing!" Kyle exclaimed. "Oh, sorry. Logan, this is my boyfriend Chris. Chris, this is Logan. He used to deejay at the club I worked at when I lived here."  
"Nice to meet you, man," Chris said, shaking the other guy's hand. He wasn't sure why, but something about this guy made him uneasy. It was just his presence, his vibe. Chris didn't like it and he got the feeling that Logan didn't feel much different about him.  
"You too," Logan smiled. His attention instantly diverted back to Kyle. "Boyfriend, huh? I don't think I've ever heard you say that word before."  
"Shut up," Kyle laughed.  
"Seriously. Well done, mate," Logan said, nodding at Chris. "This one...she was untamable when I knew her. She was...a one night stand. Maybe a mistress or a fuck buddy, but definitely not a girlfriend, so well done."  
"What can I say? He's special," Kyle smile up at her blatantly uncomfortable boyfriend. She took a tight grasp on his hand. He wanted out of this. She could see it written all over his stone face.  
"I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous," Logan began. "I tried many times with this one here, even just for one night, but she never gave it up."  
"You were like my best friend. I had no interest in ruining that."  
"Didn't stop you from fucking everyone else in our circle. Even some of the chicks if I remember correctly."  
"Okay, okay, enough of Kyle's shady as fuck past. Let's move on," Kyle insisted.  
"What happened to what's his name? The old guy?"  
"Antonio. Yeah, he's long gone."  
"So we went from old rich dudes to young rich ones?" Logan asked. "I mean, Captain America, right?" Chris issued a single nod as his tongue stabbed into his cheek. Logan shrugged. "Well ya know, darling, I'm doing pretty well for myself now..."  
"Good for you," Kyle said with a laugh. "Well...I think we were going to head out, so..."  
"Oh come on! The Kyle I know doesn't quit before four am!"  
"Well I am definitely not the same girl anymore."  
"Too bad. She was fun."  
"I'm still fun, thank you."  
"Then stay. One set, that's it. I swear. I'll even let you hang out in the booth if you want. One set," Logan pleaded.  
Kyle looked over at Chris who just pursed his lips and gave her a shrug. "Maybe...one set..."  
"Yes!" Logan exclaimed, hugging the girl again. "I gotta get inside. I'll see you guys in a bit."  
Kyle exhaled heavily, her eyes widening as Logan headed inside. "Well..."  
"Well isn't he just a barrel of laughs?" Chris said sarcastically.  
Kyle chuckled. "He's obnoxious but he's harmless."  
"And oh em gee he's your bestie."  
Kyle smirked as Chris scratched his fingers through his closely shorn beard. "What is this?" she asked.  
"What?"  
"That. That look. That tone. What's wrong?"  
Chris shook his head slowly. "Nothing. I just...he doesn't exactly seem like someone I'd picture you being friends with. It's like he and I know completely different people."  
"You do," Kyle stated firmly as she wrapped her arms around the man's waist clasping her hands at the small of his back. "His Kyle and your Kyle are very, VERY different people. If he and I met today, I probably wouldn't even talk to him."  
"Good, cause he kind of seems like a douchebag."  
"Is someone a little jealous?" Kyle asked with a smile. "You seem a bit jealous."  
Chris shook his head. "Do I have something to be jealous of?"  
"No."  
"Then I'm not jealous," Chris stated. "I am, however, going to need another drink if you're making me stay because my buzz is wearing off and I don't think I can stomach that guy sober."  
Kyle laughed. "We don't have to stay."  
"You already told him you would. I'll look like a fuck if we leave now," Chris stated. "Just get a couple shots in me and I'll be fine."  
"I'll make it up to you later."  
"Fucking damn right you will."

Three hours. Three long and (at least for Chris) miserable hours. He was less than happy when he and his girlfriend finally made their way back into their hotel room at an all too late three in the morning. Kyle instantly sat on the edge of the bed and plucked her heels from her now aching feet and chucked them across the room. She flung herself back on the immaculately made bed with a loud groan. "That was ridiculous."  
"Little bit," Chris stated simply, placing his watch, wallet and room key on the nightstand to the left of the bed. He then plopped into a chair and began untying his shoes as his girlfriend watch him intently.  
"We didn't have to stay that long," Kyle stated. He was pissed. She could practically feel it in the air around her.  
"Little late now," Chris stated with a sigh. "Besides, I was having a great time listening to him tell how desperately he wanted to fuck you. That's how every guy wants to spend their night, listening to some other dude hit on his girlfriend."  
"He wasn't hitting on me."  
"The fuck he wasn't."  
Kyle rolled her eyes and sat up as Chris headed into the bathroom. "Nothing ever happened between us, Chris. I swear."  
It was silent for a moment before she heard the toilet flush and the faucet turn on. After a few more seconds, Chris reappeared and began pulling off his clothes.  
"Chris..."  
"That's really not the point, Ky," Chris interrupted. "I don't care if you did sleep with him. The point is he was being a fucking douche, on purpose, and you just...let him. You didn't say a fucking word. You just stood there and let him run his fucking mouth."  
"What was I supposed to do?" Kyle asked. "I tried to get him to stop. It's not like I encouraged him."  
"Well you didn't exactly discourage him either."  
Kyle watched, flabbergasted, as her boyfriend simply laid his clothes on a nearby chair and crawled, boxer clad, into bed.  
"Are you kidding me right now?"  
"Not in the least," Chris answered, reaching up to turn off the lamp on his side of the bed.  
"You're seriously mad at me right now? About this?"  
"I'm not mad," Chris argued, his back toward her. "I'm exhausted and annoyed."  
Kyle scoffed. "Is there really a difference?" She turned away from his cold shoulder and dug into her own suitcase, pulling out an oversized tshirt and stripping down to only her panties. She pulled on the shirt and tugged her long locks into a sloppy bunch atop her head.  
"The difference is if I go to sleep I'll probably be over it in the morning."  
"Well this is going to be one fun vacation."  
"You know, acting like I'm the one that did something wrong really isn't helping."  
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Kyle exclaimed as she sat on her side of the bed.  
"And that, right there, is why we have a problem. Because you don't see that you did anything wrong," Chris stated. "I felt like a fucking idiot there tonight, Ky. And you just went on and fed into his shit while I stood there looking like the dumbass sap who let's his girl do whatever she wants."  
"Okay, first of all no one LETS me do anything. I'm a fucking adult, I do what I want," Kyle stated. "I don't need your permission to hang out with my friends and talk to people, Chris."  
"That's not what I'm fucking saying and you know that."  
"So what are you fucking saying?"  
Chris sighed heavily and rolled onto his back. "I'm saying..." he paused, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm saying you could've at least taken my feelings into consideration. I didn't even want to be there. I stayed because you wanted to and then... You let him talk about you like I wasn't even there. It kinda makes a guy wonder what goes on behind his back."  
"Are you fucking serious right now?" Kyle exclaimed. "So this has turned into me cheating on you?"  
"That's not what I said..."  
"Well if that's what you think, we should probably just end this now because the next six months will be real fucking miserable."  
"Calm down. That's not what I'm saying."  
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" Kyle exclaimed. "Do you not remember how long it took you to get me? Do you honestly think I'm just gonna fuck around behind your back? Is that really what you think of me?"  
"No, it's not..."  
"I seriously hope you're fucking drunk right now because this is fucking ridiculous"  
Chris sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands. "I should not have said anything."  
"No, you shouldn't have said THAT," Kyle stated, clicking off her lamp and settling into bed as far away from Chris as she could get. "I could tell you were mad, I'm not fucking stupid."  
"I never said you were stupid."  
"Well you seem to think so if you think I'd so readily fuck this up."  
"Jesus Christ, I didn't say that, Kyle!"  
"Just what were you trying to say then?"  
"I don't even fucking know anymore!" Chris exclaimed. "You twisted my words so much now I'm fucking confused!"  
"We should probably just go to sleep before one of us says something we'll really regret."  
"I don't wanna leave it like this. This got seriously out of hand."  
"Too bad. Because I'm done talking."  
"Kyle..."  
"Goodnight, Chris."  
Chris rolled his eyes. "Fine. Goodnight." He rolled back onto his side, tucking his arm under his pillow. This was not how he anticipated this night ending. 

 


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning brought with it a headache and a mouth as dry as the desert they were vacationing in. Chris awoke in bed alone but heard the shower running before he even had a chance to question it. He was still annoyed, both by Logan's antics and his girlfriend's lack of action. But perhaps the most annoying part was Kyle entirely missing she'd done anything wrong.   
Though, despite his remaining frustrations, he also felt a tinge of remorse. He had definitely not intended for their argument to get as serious as it had. And he surely hadn't meant to accuse her of anything, certainly not being unfaithful, but what had been done was done and now he just had to figure out how to fix it. And soon, before their remaining nine days together became nothing but wasted time.  
His still tired blue eyes moved toward the door the second he heard the water turn off. He had about twenty seconds to decide how to attack this day and he was currently at a loss.   
He watched silently as Kyle emerged from a cloud of steam; a fluffy white towel wrapped around her frame, her dark hair hanging wet on her shoulders and the most solemn look he'd ever seen on her face. The instant he saw her, every desire to continue his battle melted away. Suddenly he just wanted it to be over, for things to be better.  
"Hey."  
Kyle jumped what looked like a foot into the air, clutching the towel to her body and instantly laughing almost nervously. "Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me."  
Chris chuckled, rolling onto his side and propping an elbow up, his head in his hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He watched her head shake and her smile fade. She hadn't even looked at him, and it was killing him. It had been quite awhile since he wasn't instantly greeted by those warm chocolate eyes and a bright glowing smile. It was the look that made his heart race every time he saw her and for it to be gone... It was nearly unbearable. He cleared his throat. "Where you headed?"  
"Anna and I are going shopping and then to the spa," Kyle answered, tugging a pair of shorts and a peachy colored tank from her suitcase. "Chris got you guys an eleven o'clock tee time."  
Chris glanced at the right red digits of the clock next to him, glaring 9:30. He snarled at it as if it would somehow change the time. "You...wanna go get breakfast or something before we head out?"  
"Um... Anna and I were going to go grab brunch somewhere but...you should ask Chris. I'm sure he will."   
Chris sighed as she pulled a pair of flip flops out of her bag and dropped them onto the floor, sliding her painted toes into them. She was obviously not going to bring up the previous night so he had to. Even though he really, really did not want to. "I think we should talk first," he almost whispered, his eyes lowering to the comforter tucked under his elbow.   
Kyle sighed and scoffed a bit. "Do we have to?"  
"I think it'd be a good idea."  
"What's really to talk about?" Kyle asked with a shrug as she tied her damp locks into a messy mound atop her head. "I think we probably said everything we needed to."  
"Kyle, come on. I don't want the next week to be like this."  
"I don't either, so how about we just move on?"  
"Hard to move on if you don't even look at me."  
"Look," she began, finally turning to face him, "I get why you're upset. I really do, and...I know I should've said something. I was just..." She paused and scoffed, her dark eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I really wanted to avoid confrontation but that obviously backfired on me so..."  
"Baby..."  
"I don't know what you want me to say," Kyle continued. "I suck at this stuff, alright? I'm not trying to make excuses, it's the truth. I've spent...the majority of my life being extremely selfish and not thinking of anyone else's feelings and it's a lot harder to get out of that mindset than I expected."  
"Ky, don't do that. No one's saying you suck at anything," Chris stated as he sat up. He got no reaction from the girl, so he sighed and climbed out of bed, readjusting his boxers as he walked swiftly toward the obviously upset girl. "C'mere," he said softly, pulling her into his arms before she had a chance to argue. She didn't even try to object as his muscular arms wrapped around her shoulders and there was no fight as his chin dipped and pressed a kiss into the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I was pissed and I let this get out of hand. I said some things I shouldn't have said..."  
"It's okay," Kyle said softly.   
"It's not," Chris argued. "I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I know you better than that and I'm sorry that it came across any other way."  
"I know. I overreacted and... It was dumb," Kyle said, pulling back to wipe the dampness from under her eyes. "Sober Kyle would've probably not reacted so...poorly."  
Chris chuckled, "I think it's pretty fair to assume that if either of us would've been sober last night would not have turned into...that."  
"I am really sorry I made you hang out with him. I really forgot how big of a tool he was. Like seriously."  
"It's alright, I mean... I don't want to do it again, like...ever but..."  
"I don't want to do it again," Kyle insisted with a laugh.   
"Well we're in agreement then," Chris grinned. He sighed heavily and ran his hands over his head. "I don't know why that dude got to me so bad."  
"He was trying to."  
"It worked," Chris laughed.   
"I should've told him off," Kyle sighed.   
"Yeah, well I should've probably said something before I snapped," Chris stated.   
"You were kind of in combat mode when we got back here."  
"Yeah, I was," Chris agreed with an embarrassed chuckle. "But...it's over, okay? And...were not fighting again. Ever."  
"Ever?" Kyle asked with a laugh. "That seems unlikely."  
"Well we're gonna try because it fucking sucks," Chris said with a smirk.   
Kyle cooed sweetly before pushing up onto her toes and pressing her lips to his. "I love you."  
"I love you too," Chris smirked before he kissed her again, firm and lovingly, his arms encompassing her waist. After a while, a long while, the kiss ended, but his forehead stayed nestled against the side of hers. "I don't think I've ever hated fighting with anyone as much as I hate fighting with you."  
Kyle laughed lightly. "Me either. But it's gonna happen. We're not gonna get along all the time, every day."  
"Alright, well, can we at least agree to not go to bed angry? Whatever it is...we just hash it out. No more...giant wall down the middle of the bed."  
Kyle smiled brightly. "Aw, did someone miss cuddling?"  
"I did!" Chris exclaimed with a laugh. "Like seriously. I woke up like five times and just wanted to curl up behind you but I didn't...and instead I just cried."  
"You are so full of shit."  
"You don't know, you were sleeping."  
Kyle just rolled her eyes. "Alright, you. I have to get going."  
"Alright," Chris gave in with a bit of a whine. "I love you."  
"I love you too. Go kick Pratt's ass."   
"Oh I will. Have fun with your girly shit," Chris grinned crookedly as his girl walked away. "Hey. Bring me something nice."  
Kyle laughed as she turned in the doorway, back to facing her man. "What would you like?"  
"You...in something small and lacy."  
Kyle giggled and shook her head. "I'll see what I can do." She attempted to make her exit but was quickly stopped again.   
"Hey."  
"What, Christopher?"  
"I love you."  
"I love you too...dork."  
"Rude!" Chris exclaimed as Kyle pulled the door shit behind her. He smirked to himself as he dug out clothes for his golfing adventure. That had been surprisingly easier than he anticipated. 

 

"I hate these places," Kyle muttered, rifling through a rack of garments in some high end lingerie shop. "I feel like such a knob."  
"Oh come on," Anna argued, following suit on a different rack. "Every girl loves something sexy."  
"This stuff doesn't make me feel sexy. It makes me feel awkward. I have the most normal, boring underwear in all the land and Chris hasn't complained yet."  
Anna chuckled. "Trust me, sweetheart, he's paying no attention to what he's throwing on the floor."  
Kyle nodded in agreement. "I just...want to make him happy."  
"Kyle, I'm sure it was more of a joke than anything else," Anna stated. "He is happy. Happier than I've ever seen him."  
Kyle sighed. "I hope so."  
"What's wrong?" Anna inquired. "What happened?"  
Kyle gulped. "We got into it last night. I don't know know. We made up this morning, but I still feel shitty."  
"Why?"  
"I don't know. Because I made him angry? Because I hurt him?" Kyle stated with a chuckle. "I have guilt issues."   
"Obviously," Anna laughed. "Honey, you're going to fight. Sometimes you're going to mess up, and sometimes he is. That's life. That's...love. It's making it through that bullshit that...solidifies you, ya know?"  
"I know... I'm just so scared of messing this up I'm overthinking everything. He's...probably the most real relationship I've ever been in and... I don't know. I don't want to fuck it up, I guess."  
"Honey, it's going to take a lot more than one fight to get that boy away from you," Anna stated with a bit of a scoff. "I mean, look how long he put up with Mara."  
Kyle guffawed. "Yeah if I could not be Mara, that'd be fantastic."  
"Well as long as you don't start sleeping with his friends."  
Kyle looked at the blonde curiously. "What?"  
"You didn't know she cheated?"  
"No I knew that, he didn't mention it was his friends though."  
"Probably because they're not friends now," Anna stated. "He was pretty messed up. Kind of...secluded himself. Which isn't Chris at all. He's a social freaking butterfly, that one. Then he got done filming and just went back home. I think Boston is better for him anyway. He seems happier when he's there."  
"I know that feeling," Kyle sighed. "Aside from Italy. But I had no responsibilities there so of course I was happy."  
"You lived in Italy? Where?"  
"Um...a few different places. Venice, Verona. I was in Florence for a bit and then I landed in Palermo and was there for about...eighteen months before I came back to the States. I kind of miss it sometimes. Everything is so much calmer there."  
"You also weren't dating a movie star."  
Kyle laughed. "That too." She fell silent a moment before speaking up again. "Is it weird that I don't think of him like that? Like...he's just Chris. He's a dude I met at my bar one night. I haven't had to deal with the mass hysteria yet, really. No one knows I exist."  
"That'll change. And when it does, hold on to that dude you met at the bar, because it can get overwhelming," Anna advised. "If I know Chris, he'll try to keep you out of it as much as possible, but the longer you're together the harder it'll get."  
"I'm not really looking forward to that," Kyle stated with a laugh as she pulled some lacy blue number out of the sea of skivvies. "I like my anonymity."  
"Says the five star chef."  
"Four. I only have four."  
Anna laughed. "Oh, well excuse me." She paused before looking up at her friend. "Look, as long as you two know what you have, no one else needs to. And Chris is...a pretty private guy when it comes to relationships. So as long as you both have a clear head about things, you'll be fine."  
"It's surprisingly easy with him. Like...I've never questioned what we are. That's his job," Kyle sighed.  
"I think he's over that now."  
"I hope so," Kyle said with a nod, "because...he means the world to me." She paused and shook her head with a scoff, her eyes lowering to the hardwood floor below her feet. "God. I have to be the hardest girl to date in this world. He could have anyone and he settles for this. Every day. Every fucking day."  
"I don't think he sees it as settling, no one does."  
Kyle scoffed once again. "Well I do. I've seen the girls he dates. Google is a terrible place. "  
"You googled him?" Anna laughed. "That was a terrible idea."  
"It was...a long time ago. Right after we first met. My best friend actually did it, I got caught up. They paint him to be this...womanizing, party boy..."  
Anna chuckled softly. "He has his moments. When he's single...he's...well he's a movie star. He does what he wants, when he wants to, with whom he wants to. I mean he's...a gorgeous man and the ladies kind of fall at his feet, but when he's in a relationship... He's a different guy then. You don't have a thing to worry about..."  
"Oh I'm not worried," Kyle insisted, shaking her head back and forth. "I trust him completely. I just... I don't get what he sees in me. And that probably sounds ridiculous and like I'm begging for attention or...fishing for shit, but I'm really not. I honestly do not get it at all."   
"Well, you don't have to. Just accept and revel in it and...that's it. Don't spend your time second guessing it because you'll only end up sabotaging yourself."  
"I'm really good at that. I majored in self sabotage at college, actually."  
"We've all done it at one point or another."  
"Well I do it...repeatedly. Without even meaning to, actually. It's kind of impressive."  
"Well make this time different," Anna stated. "It's really that simple."  
"I'm trying, I really am."  
"I know, and so does he," Anna replied with a smile. "Now hurry up and pick something. We've got one hell of a spa day to get to."

"How?!" Pratt exclaimed, angrily shoving his putting wedge back into the rented golf bag. "How are you so fucking good at this?"  
"I don't know, man. Guess I'm just better than you at everything," Evans gleamed, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.   
"I'm gonna knock your head off with a nine iron," Pratt grumbled. "Who golfs anyway? What are you? A fifty year old dentist? The goddamned president?"  
"Aw, now he's grumpy," Evans teased.   
"Seriously. Get some more interesting hobbies. Like...do crack or something. You're turning into an old man," Pratt stated.   
Evans continued laughing. "I think I'll skip the narcotics, but thanks." He dug into his pocket in search of his phone and retrieved it to find no new messages, at least none from the person he hoped for. He sighed and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.   
"You waiting for something in particular?" Pratt asked with a smirk.  
"No I just..." Evans eyes rose to his friend's just staring at him, smirking, "I miss her, okay?! Get off my fucking back."  
"It's been four hours."  
"Just fuck off. I don't wanna hear it."  
"Are your balls tucked into her purse or..."  
"Shut the fuck up," Evans laughed loudly, lifting his golf bag into the cart. "We got in a huge fight last night and then we made up this morning and honestly, I don't want to spend any more time away from her. I'm gonna have to deal with that soon enough...and I'm not all that excited about it."  
"I don't imagine so. I doubt she is either," Pratt stated as the boys climbed into their golf cart.   
Evans ran his hands over his face. "This sucks. This is the worst part of it all. Go back to Boston to just...recollect myself and fucking fall for the first girl I meet and now I've gotta go back to LA...and pretty much everywhere else you can imagine."  
"The Press Tour Blues. I feel you."  
"Yeah but Anna and Jack go with you. I'll be lucky if I get one weekend a month. She's fucking busier than I am."  
"You picked one with a career, man. What'd you expect?"  
"So did you!"  
"Yeah and we did all this shit when we were first together. Then...we got married and had Jack and...now we try to work at separate times. Doesn't always work, but it was worth all the bullshit to get here."  
"Yeah well...we're not there yet. I'm not sure she'll ever slow down. That restaurant is her life," Evans sighed. "Trust me if I could get her to quit and drag her with me, I would, but I don't see that happening."  
"You wouldn't ask her to do that anyway."  
"The selfish part of me would," Evans stated with a slight chuckle. He inhaled deeply and shook his head. "I...have never...felt this way before. And...I'm sure that I've said that every time I fall for someone new but I really mean it this time, this is different, I know it. I don't know what that means but..."  
"You know what it means," Pratt smirked.  
Evans laughed and shook his head. "Don't do that. Don't put that idea in my head."  
"I didn't. You're the one who brought it up last night."  
"I was drunk."  
"Were you? Or were you being honest?"   
Evans sighed heavily. "I think I was both."  
"That sounds more likely."  
"Alright, enough. I need a drink, and some lunch."  
"I am a-okay with that."

"What are you all dressed up for?" Kyle asked with a laugh as she drug her shopping bags into the room around six that evening. She walked into the room to find Chris looking like he was heading somewhere important: slacks, blue, white and purple checked dress shirt under a black sweater.   
"Hey you," Chris greeted with a crooked smirk, leaning toward the beauty and kissing her softly. "Have a good day?"  
"I did," Kyle answered, still confused by his attire. "Where are you going?"   
"Mm, it's more of a we thing," Chris answered. "I got a couple odds and ends I gotta go tie up...but you, my darling, should get ready."  
"For what?"  
"That I cannot tell you. It's a surprise."  
"Well...I kinda need to know so I have some idea what to wear," Kyle responded.   
Chris chuckled and looked at her. She was visually antsy, feet shifting back and forth, eyes not really looking at anything in particular, but it only made Chris grin more. "You really don't like not being in control, do you?" he asked.  
"No," Kyle said with a laugh, "I really don't."  
Chris smirked and gave her another soft peck. "I'll be back in like an hour." He headed for the side table to grab his watch and wallet.   
"Chris..."  
"An hour's long enough, right?" he asked, clasping the watch shut around his wrist.   
"You're not gonna tell me anything are you?"  
Chris shook his head. "I definitely am not." He took a step back toward her, pressing the palm of his hand against her cheek. "I promise you, though," he began as he rested his forehead against hers, "it will be worth relinquishing control for the next hour." He kissed her deeply, with all the passion he could muster, his own heart skipping a beat as their tongues danced together. He pulled away slowly, brushing his lips against her forehead, his beard tickling the tip of her nose. "I love you. I'll see you in an hour."  
"Okay," Kyle sighed, his kiss leaving her unable to say much else.   
Chris turned back from the door. "Oh, and that box on the bed is for you. I already decided what you should wear," he said with a wink.  
"You're an ass," Kyle laughed, but as she began to turn away, Chris once again called out for her attention.   
"Hey."  
"Yes, dear?" Kyle asked with a sigh.  
"Do me a favor, leave your phone here. No interruptions tonight, okay?"   
"Okay."  
"No shop talk. Just us."  
"I get it," Kyle laughed.  
"Not one word about the restaurant. Or movies. Or Los Angeles or anything else. Nothing."  
"I get it, bro! Chill!"  
Chris grinned and shook his head. "I love you. I'll see you in a bit."  
"Deal."  
He tossed a wave in her direction and disappeared into the hallway, shutting the door with a click.   
Kyle laughed and shook her head, before heading to the box she hadn't even noticed before its mention. She wasn't sure what was inside or what he was even up to, but she was certain she would enjoy every second of it. 

It was exactly an hour when she heard a knock on the front door. Confused, and dressed in the strapless white dress she'd found in the box, she headed for the door. She'd had never picked such a dress for herself, but once it was on she'd instantly fallen in love. Short with a tight bodice and a slightly fuller skirt, white as fresh fallen snow, with pockets at her hips. It was cute. Her man definitely had good taste. She'd only added her own high black pumps, and a dangly pair of turquoise earrings with a matching cuff around her wrist. She felt like she was headed for a red carpet. It was easily the most dressed up she had been in recent memory and for some reason it was making her nervous. But the second she heard the knock, her nervousness was replaced by excitement and she was more than eager to rejoin her love. Upon opening the door, however, she found a worker from the hotel and not the man she expected.   
"Hi," she greeted, her tone conveying her confusion.   
"Miss Donato, Mr. Evans sent me for you, if you're ready," the well dressed man responded.  
"Um, yeah, just one second," Kyle answered, heading to the sofa for the black clutch she had purchased earlier that day. She reached up, her hand pushing on the bun atop her head. "Where exactly are we going?"  
"You'll see in a moment, ma'am," the concierge smiled.   
"Oh you're in on this too, huh?" Kyle asked as the man ushered her out and pulled the door shut behind them.  
"Mr. Evans gave very specific instructions."  
"I'm sure he did," Kyle stated with a laugh, her high black pumps making a muffled thud on the carpeted hallway with each step. She headed into the elevator, followed by her escort who swiped a card and pushed one of the upper level buttons, one not accessible without the card. "We're going up?"  
"Indeed we are," the concierge chuckled. "Mr. Evans said you'd be full of questions. He wasn't kidding."  
"Isn't that where all the fancy suites are?"  
"Why don't you tell me?"   
"Sorry," Kyle said with a nervous laugh. "Surprises aren't my strong suit."  
"He mentioned that too," the man stated with a wink as the elevator binged to a halt. As the door opened, his arm extended. "After you, miss."  
Kyle cautiously took a step into the dark, expansive room they'd entered. It was more of a ritzy apartment than anything else, the lights of Las Vegas glowing through the multitude of glass windows. She stood still for a moment, taking in the view of the skyline, high above the city, it was like nothing she'd ever seen before. For a brief moment she was captivated by its beauty, and her curiosity had been stifled.   
"Miss?" her escort spoke, jolting her back into reality. "Right this way."  
"Yes. Sorry," Kyle said with a smile as he lead her further into the room. As they neared the glass before them, she realized they were in fact a set of doors, leading out onto a balcony, littered with candles and a table set for two. She spotted Chris, back toward her, admiring the same view that had just stolen her breath. Seeing him, standing there, surrounded by what was without a doubt the most romantic gesture anyone had ever done for her was enough to melt away any nerves, and her heart as well.   
Chris turned as he heard the door slide open, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He felt his breath catch in his chest as the woman he was waiting for walked into view. "Wow," he said with a bit of a laugh. "I don't think I could've picked a better dress if I tried."   
"You did pretty good," Kyle said with an almost shy smile as they moved toward each other.  
"You look beautiful. Absolutely beautiful," Chris stated softly before planting his lips upon hers. The kiss wasn't long, but it was very loving. He smiled at her after pulling away before raising his head and looking toward the man behind her. "Thank you, Jason. I think we'll be alright now."  
"If there's anything else, sir, just call."  
"I will," Chris said with a nod as the man made his exit, closing the door behind him. He immediately looked back into the brown eyes a few inches below his, gazing at him adoringly. "I hope you're hungry. We've got quite the setup over here."  
Kyle laughed as he took her hand and led her to the table on the furthest edge of the balcony. "What did you do?" she whispered, curling into his shoulder as they arrived at the table.   
"Well I didn't cook, you crazy? There's a crew inside doing all this," Chris answered. "I just made some phone calls." He brushed his lips against her forehead before pulling out her chair. "Sit down."  
Kyle obliged, tucking her skirt under herself as she sat in the chair. The second Chris took his seat, a server appeared with a bottle of wine.   
"Miss?"  
"Yes, please," Kyle said with a nod. The man poured into her glass and then Chris's before making his exit. Kyle's eyes roamed the table: beautifully plated salads, a basket containing perfectly baked bread, wine and water, flowers, candles, everything a romantic dinner required. "I can't believe you. You didn't have to do all of this."  
"I know that," Chris stated. "I wanted to. You deserve something special every once in awhile."  
Kyle laughed. "I'm perfectly content with jeans and pizza, you know that. You don't have to go to all of this trouble for me."  
"I wanted to, Ky. Let me be romantic every once in awhile, huh?" Chris asked with a smirk, reaching across the table for her hand. "I just...I wanted to do something special before I go back to work. I wanted you to see how much you, how much we mean to me. I don't want to leave you with any questions about where we stand. Being apart doesn't change anything. You're my focus."  
Kyle pursed her lips and smiled sweetly, her thumb running over the top of his hand. "I know, babe."  
"Do you?" Chris asked.   
Kyle nodded. "I do. I always have. You're pretty good at letting a girl know what she means to you."  
"Good," Chris smiled. "Because I want this. More than...I've wanted anything in a long time. I want us. I want...a life, me and you, for a long time. As long as you'll have me."  
"Oh yeah?" Kyle asked as her cheeks flushed.   
"Yeah," Chris nodded.   
"I think I can handle that."  
"Oh really? You're not gonna insist that you're still gonna mess this up?" Chris teased with a smirk.   
Kyle laughed. "Not tonight," she stated as he released her hand and she tucked her napkin onto her lap.   
"Well I will definitely toast to that," Chris stated, raising his wine glass toward her. "To us."  
"To us," Kyle smiled in return. 

After three courses, including a most decadent desert, the couple moved to another part of the balcony, where a couch with mounds of pillows and a glowing fire waited. Kyle instantly settled into Chris's arms as the Las Vegas night had picked up a bit of a chill.   
"You cold?" Chris asked before pressing his lips into her forehead.   
"I'm good," she insisted, simply snuggling into him more, her head against his chest, listening to the melody of his heart beat.   
Chris chuckled. "We can go inside, babe. We have the whoooole place to ourselves tonight. We got the pool. The beds...all if it."  
"You rented out an enormous suite and our normal room?" Kyle asked, looking up at him.  
"Just for tonight. Tonight's special," Chris answered, his eyes locking onto hers, dark, but glittering from the fire before them.   
"You're insane."  
"Love makes you do crazy things," Chris smirked, his eyes locking onto hers. They just stared at each other a moment, Kyle blushing and looking away just as she always did. "C'mere," he commanded, his hand raising and cradling the back of her head. Kyle, flushed cheeks and all, gave into the man, practically climbing into his lap. Their foreheads came together, lips barely brushing. Chris chuckled. "You gonna be all shy now? You go from Boston badass to shy girl in like two seconds."  
Kyle laughed. "You make me feel...stupid," she whispered in return.   
"What do you mean?" Chris asked, his eyes gluing onto the shiny glossed lips in front of him.   
"I don't know. It's been like six months and you still make me feel like this...girly idiot. It's annoying."  
"It's annoying?" Chris asked with a laugh.  
"Yes. I'm not used to being like this. Still. Still not used to it."  
"Well maybe if you stop trying to be a hard ass all the time."  
"You like my hard ass."  
Chris let out a loud laugh, his head tipping back, eyes toward the sky. "I didn't literally mean your ass, but yeah, I'm not going to deny that." His arm moved from the neck of this couch to resting on her, his hand landing directly on her body part in question. Her form pressed tightly into his as their hearts beat rapidly, but in unison. Chris chuckled. "You are so much fucking trouble."  
"Why?"  
"Cuz I'm sitting here trying to be all sweet and romantic and you get my head rolling on that field..."  
"You're head's always rolling on that field," Kyle teased, bringing her lips near his once again.   
"Girl..." Chris began. However, before he could even complete his thought, her lips were on his, her tongue in his mouth cavorting with his own. His hand cradled the back of her head, wanting to hold on to this moment as long as he could.   
Before things could grow more heated, Chris hesitantly pulled away. "One second," he said with a chuckle, running his tongue over his lips. "We gotta do something first."  
"What's that?" Kyle asked, wanting nothing more than to absolutely devour the man next to her.  
"Just gimme a second. I have something for you."  
"I bet you do," Kyle chuckled.  
"Ah ha ha, I didn't mean that," Chris laughed. His hand left her cheek and reached down to the floor beside the sofa. To say her heart skipped a beat as he reached for some unknown surprise was an understatement. Their conversation that night had skewed more serious than ever before and he had managed to pull off an incredibly romantic night. But as he brought up his hand she breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. He brought forth what appeared to be a photo album and placed it in her lap. "I had some help with this one."  
Kyle eyed him, confused as she cracked the book open, the new cover creaking a bit. As her eyes fell on the page before her, one hand rose to cover her mouth. "Oh my god," she said, her voice nearly a whisper. "It's us."  
"My mom was digging through some stuff awhile back and found a bunch of pictures from when we were kids. She made some copies and...I put em in a book."   
Kyle felt tears welling with every page she turned. Pictures of them, his brother and sisters, and Toby as kids. A lot of them with her father and mother or his or both. It was like a whole different life she had completely forgotten about was staring up at her. Each picture brought forth a laugh or a streaking tear, but all of them filled her heart like nothing had before. She laughed as she landed on one that was quite obviously a birthday party, shortly before she'd been swept away to Florida. "Look at you," she giggled. "You and your big ol teeth."  
"You gotta take it there every fucking time, huh?" Chris chuckled. "I'm lucky my dad is a dentist, alright? I know."   
"I'd say." She laughed, but slowly the smile faded and she shook her head. The sight of her father, full of life and in perfect health was something she barely remembered. The longer he was sick, the more it seemed like he had always been that way. Him being lively, full of the family's trademark Italian zest was a memory that had begun to fade, and rather fast. But now, looking at Chris's album, it was almost as if he had never fallen ill. "My God. Look at my dad," she said with a laugh, tears readily rolling from her eyes.   
Chris pursed his lips and wrapped his arms tightly around her, his chin nestling in the crook of her neck. "That's him, babe. That's the him I remember. That smile, the laugh. God, the best laugh I have ever heard. You laugh like him."  
Kyle giggled, tilting her head to lean on his. "Do I?"  
"You do," Chris said softly, his lips brushing against her cheek. "You Donatos...you laugh with your whole body. It's like you glow. It's contagious."  
Kyle just beamed, and with the turn of another page she landed on more recent pictures, the first from Halloween. "I don't even remember anyone taking these. We look ridiculous," she laughed.   
"Easily one of the best nights of my life."  
"Shut up," Kyle commanded. "Are you joking?"  
"I'm serious," Chris insisted. "That was the night I knew I had to make this happen. No matter what, no matter what I had to do, no matter how long it took..."  
"Two months. You...are a very patient man."  
"Worth every second."  
Kyle laughed softly as she continued to turn pages. "God, how did I miss people taking all these pictures of us?"  
"You were too busy falling under my spell."  
"That's gotta be it."  
"Well, it's a good thing other people were taking pictures for us because we were far too busy...falling in looooove."   
"It's true..." Kyle said, lost in the memories on the pages in front of her. She couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her, in every single one. Whether it was from Halloween or her birthday or other random hang outs, he had the same look on his face. And she too. She'd never seen herself so happy, and if she hadn't seen the photographic proof, she wasn't sure she'd ever have realized how happy she really was. When she arrived at the final photo an audible coo escaped her lungs. It was their midnight kiss, in the Boston fireworks on New Year's Eve. "Who took this?" she asked.  
"Anna," Chris answered. "She texted it to me a couple days ago. Forgot she had it apparently."  
"I love it," Kyle stated, running her fingers over the page.   
"Me too," Chris stated, pressing his lips into the side of her head. "I've got one printed off and in a frame in my suitcase for when I head out. I think it's the background on my phone too actually..." he added with a chuckle.   
Kyle turned her eyes toward his, hers still glimmering with only the happiest of tears. "There is a lot of pages left."  
"That just means we'll have to fill them up," Chris smirked. "We got a lot to do."  
"Yeah we do," Kyle laughed. She leaned forward and kissed him firmly. "I love you."  
"I love you too, baby," Chris responded softly.   
"Thank you," she said softly. "This is all...pretty amazing."  
"Yeah well, you're pretty amazing, so it fits."  
Kyle just stared at the man a moment, shaking her head, a sweet smile raising her cheeks. "What am I going to do without you for six months, huh?"  
Chris was silent a moment before he smiled. "Actually get some work done?"  
Kyle laughed brightly. "That's actually probably true. I'll just dive head first so I don't have time to miss your dumb ass."  
"Easy!" Chris exclaimed, poking at her playfully. "Real fuckin nice there, babe." Kyle just smiled and leaned more into his arms. Gradually, Chris watched the smile fade and a visible concern wash over. "Hey," he began softly, dipping his head so his words were flowing directly into her ear, "listen to me, it's gonna suck. We're gonna get upset and mad and sad over stupid shit just because we miss each other, but it's not permanent. After this, I'll be home, for awhile and I promise you this bullshit will be worth it."  
"I know," Kyle whispered.  
"And not like we won't see each other the entire six months. You'll come visit, I'll come visit, we got a lot of little breaks we'll just do whatever we gotta do to see each other. Hell, you need me, I'm on a plane that night. I'll come in for four hours just to go back."  
Kyle laughed softly. "That's stupid. I'm not that needy."  
"Well maybe I'm that fucking needy," Chris argued. He brushed his lips against her temple. "It's gonna be okay. I know it looks real fucking depressing right now, but, it's gonna be fine. It'll go by quicker than you realize."  
"It better."  
"It will. I promise," Chris insisted. "No more being sad about it cuz you're gonna turn me into a weepy mess here soon."  
"Shut up," Kyle laughed.  
"I'm serious! Don't dismiss my emotions!" Chris teased. Kyle finally laughed and looked up at him. "I love you...even though you're a jerk to me half the time."   
"I'm a jerk?" Kyle asked with a laugh.   
"You're...kind of a jerk..." Chris nodded.  
"I've been a dick to you since the first day we met. You're the moron who hung around."  
"Glutton for punishment," Chris laughed. "Besides...when you're nice, you're reaaaaally nice."  
"Oh yeah?" Kyle beamed as Chris's face neared hers.   
"Mhmm," Chris hummed, licking his lips. "Very, very nice."   
Kyle smiled as the tip of his nose hit the tip of hers. "I love you," she said softly.  
"I love you too," Chris responded before pressing his lips into hers.   
Kyle's dark eyes closed tightly as she lost herself in his kiss, her body shifting until she was all but on top of him. She tried to silence the worries still screaming in her head and slowly, but surely, he was more than enough to wash them away. Maybe, just maybe, if she kissed him hard enough, he wouldn't leave.


	14. Chapter 14

He could practically feel his heart breaking in his chest as Kyle clung to him for dear life, sniffling and silently sobbing. The rest of their trip had been nothing short of amazing but it had ended far too soon and now here they were, in their cleaned and packed up room, trying to put off saying goodbye for as long as they possibly could.  
"Baby, I can go to the airport with you," Chris insisted softly before pressing his lips into the side of her head. "It's not a big deal."  
Kyle sniffed her tears back with a deep breath, her face finally leaving his shoulder as she shook her head. "No. It'll be worse there...and it'll be in public and you know there will be people there waiting for you anyway..."  
Chris chuckled as he brushed his hand across the tear soaked cheeks of his beauty. "Ya know you're going to have to deal with the public aspect eventually, right? I mean it sucks, but it kind of comes with the territory."  
"I know but maybe we could wait until I'm a little more emotionally stable."  
Chris chuckled. "C'mere," he demanded, tugging her back into his arms. "I love you. I don't wanna do this any more than you do."  
"I know," Kyle whispered in return.  
"Just a few weeks. And then you're coming to LA."  
Kyle heaved a heavy sigh and looked up into the crystal blue eyes just slightly above her. "How you just convinced me to do a premiere is beyond me."  
"Cuz I'm cute..." Chris smirked, "and you love me."  
"This is true."  
"You don't have to walk the carpet. You can just go off to the side like my mom always does. Whatever you're comfortable with,"  
"I know, Chris."  
"You could always come see me earlier than that you know," he continued, a dazzling smile strewn over his face.  
"Oh yeah? I'll just become a regular jet setter, maybe I can make the Japan premiere."  
"I wouldn't mind..."  
"I think my business I've already been ignoring for ten days might have someone to say about it."  
"I'm sure Mar has shit under control."  
"I'm sure she does...in her own way, but we tend to do things a bit differently..."  
"Yeah, she has a life OUTSIDE of the restaurant." Kyle issued Chris a disapproving glare to which he simply chuckled. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."  
"Spend our last few minutes slinging digs. Good idea," Kyle said sarcastically. As she headed to the bed to zip up her purse.  
"I said I was kidding! Hey! Get over here!" Chris exclaimed, jogging the short few steps toward her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm joking. I love you and I love that you're so passionate about your work. I do, you know that."  
Kyle let out a defeated sigh and turned back to face him. "I know."  
"I'm just...in selfish mode," Chris stated with the most adorable of pouts. "I just wanna put you in my suitcase and take you with me everywhere."  
"That's either adorable or homicidal. I can't decide."  
Chris cocked an eyebrow. "Let's go with adorable...for now."  
"You're an idiot," Kyle laughed.  
"Mm, I might just be," Chris smirked, his face slowly beginning to lean toward hers.  
"There's no might be about it."  
"Shut up," Chris grinned brightly. However just as he was about to lay his iOS upon hers, the phone next to the bed began ringing abruptly. The smiles on both of their faces quickly faded as they knew exactly what the call was. "No," Chris now whined, pressing his forehead into his girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm not ready for this."  
Kyle laughed sweetly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "What happened to 'It's only four weeks'?"  
"It was all a show," Chris stated, his voice muffled. "I'm a fucking mess."  
Kyle pressed her chin against the side of his head. "I need to get the phone, baby..."  
Chris stood up straight while shaking his head. "No, let them think. We're not here and then you won't have to go..." His voice trailed off just we the phone stopped. "See! It's all good! We're golden! Now let's run away."  
Kyle giggled as Chris's arms wrapped tightly around her neck and they swayed back and forth. "I don't think it works that way, babe."  
"No, it does, trust me."  
As Kyle opened her mouth to speak the phone began singing out once again. "I told you..."  
"Nooo...don't get it..." Chris whined, stomping his feet as Kyle headed to the phone,. It was obvious from the shortness of the call that it was exactly the one they'd been waiting for, or dreading was a more accurate description. He watched as his girl turned back toward him. "I don't wanna do this," he said as she walked instantly back into his arms.  
"Me either," Kyle said into his chest.  
Chris's puffed up his cheeks and exhaled slowly, his beard meshing with the hair on the side of Kyle's head, tears in his own eyes he was fighting to keep at bay. "Can I at least walk you downstairs? Please?"  
Kyle pulled back and laughed, tears glimmering. "If you must."  
Chris nodded quickly and gulped. "Yeah...yeah I must."

The flight back to Boston was long and dreary, and it was no surprise that it was pouring the second she arrived at Logan International. She'd only said goodbye to him a mere six hours previously but it already felt like an eternity. Since he had returned to Boston after his brief stint in LA, the longest they'd gone without seeing each other was two days, at the most. She hailed a cab, shoved her luggage in the trunk and slunk into the backseat only speaking to give the driver instructions on where to drop her, though going home was about the last thing Kyle really wanted to do. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kyle's sous chef, Elaine asked as the leader of the pack strolled in the back door of a bustling Nosh. "Didn't you just get back?"  
"Don't worry. Kitchen's all yours," Kyle stated, putting her hands in the air. "I just couldn't sit at home anymore." Without another word she headed into the office where she found an unusually somber appearing Margo sitting behind the desk. "What's going on?"  
Margo jumped about a foot off her seat at the unexpected sound of her best friend's voice. "Jesus Christ, what are you doing here? You scared the shit outta me."  
Kyle sighed and placed her butt on a rare bare corner of the desk. "Couldn't sit at him alone. It's already making me crazy. What're you doing back here?"  
"It's slow and...I didn't really feel like being on the floor anymore," Margo answered. "I got a big call today."  
"What's that?"  
"Food and Wine wants to do a feature on us. Apparently...we've been catching some eyes in the biz..."  
"Thats amazing," Kyle stated, somewhat shocked. "Why don't you look at all happy about it?"  
Margo gulped. "Because that wasn't the only phone call I got today."  
Kyle was horrified. She didn't know what that meant and she wasn't sure she wanted to. "Margo, what?"  
Margo's eyes hit the desk and she tucked some stray strands of hair behind her ears. "Um...Drake broke up with me."  
"What?!" Kyle exclaimed. "Why didn't you call me?!"  
"You were dealing with your own shit today. I didn't want to bother you."  
"Don't be a fucking idiot. You should've called me." Kyle took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't understand...I thought things were going really well."  
"So did I," Margo said with a scoff. "Apparently he didn't. He just basically said with him being on the road all the time that it just wasn't gonna work..." The second those words left her lips, Margo's eyes flew up to look at her best friend. "Don't get any ideas. That doesn't mean it won't for you and Chris..."  
Kyle chuckled and shook her head. "I honestly didn't even go there," she assured. She took a deep breath. "You wanna get outta here? I need a drink and not in my place of business."  
Margo sighed. "I could definitely go for that."  
"Come on. Slumber party at my place."  
"We have to get your dog."  
Kyle's head tipped back as both girls rose to their feet. "Oh God, yes please. I need his squishy face."

It was midnight when her favorite ringtone woke her from slumber. The best friends had polished off the better part of three bottles of wine in the comfort of Kyle's bed, all the while talking about their emotionally draining days and watching every 80s movie they could find. Kyle attempted to grab the phone and crawl out of bed without disturbing a passed out Margo, but it quickly began evident that not much would bring the red head back to the rest of the world.  
"Hey," Kyle greeted with a whisper as she escaped into the living room, pulling the door shut quietly behind her.  
"Hey beautiful," Chris's voice greeted. "Why are you whispering?"  
"Um, Margo had a rough day. We got a bit wasted and passed out."  
"I didn't mean to wake you. I was about to head out with some of the guys, I can let you get to bed."  
"No, it's fine. I wanna hear your voice," Kyle responded. She yawned as she sank into the couch. "Who's the guys?"  
"Renner, Hemsworth, Mackie... Seb might be meeting up with us. I don't really know," Chris stated. "What's going on with Margo? She ok?"  
Kyle sighed. "Not really. Your buddy broke her heart."  
"What? Drake? You serious?"  
"Yeah. Apparently he called her today and told her it wasn't going to work with him being gone all the time."  
Chris scoffed. "That's some bullshit. He hasn't even tried. The season just started."  
"That's what I said," Kyle said, playing with a loose string on the afghan she'd just pulled onto her lap. "I mean I get the concern, I guess..."  
"It's not concern. He wants to be single on the road. It's that simple," Chris stated. "Drake's never really been a relationship guy. I probably should've said something before it got to this point."  
"You didn't have time. They were together the second they met."  
"True," Chris agreed. There was a long silence, or at least it felt long from his end of the phone. "You okay? You're kinda quiet."  
"No...I mean, I'm fine. I'm just drunk. And I kind of have a headache. I shouldn't drink wine, this always happens," Kyle stated.  
"You sure that's it? Tone of your voice doesn't necessarily seem like all that's on your mind is a headache."  
Kyle gulped, tugging at the string and making the hole in her blanket even bigger. She took a deep breath. "Are you sure you...don't...want to be single on the road? I mean I get it..."  
"Kylie, there's nothing to get," Chris stated firmly. "I'm with you, whether I'm in Boston or LA or fucking Antarctica. That doesn't change."  
"I just don't want to hold you back."  
"Stop it. You're not holding me back from anything, okay? I've done everything I wanted to do as a single man, okay? Now I wanna do them with you. It's that simple," Chris insisted. "Stop freaking out on me. We haven't even made it twenty four hours yet."  
"I'm not freaking out."  
"You're kinda freaking out," Chris chuckled, "and that's okay. This is scary, I know. Especially for you because you haven't done it before, I know that and...I will spend the next six months telling you the same thing: I'm not going anywhere. I don't want anyone else. I don't wanna date anyone else. I don't wanna sleep with anyone else. I don't even wanna go to dinner with anyone else, okay? You're my future, Ky. I'm not gonna do anything to mess that up."  
Kyle could feel her cheeks flush as an enormous smile took over her face. "I love you."  
"I love you too baby. And I miss you. Already."  
"I miss you too." She heard a door buy buzz in the background.  
"That's Renner. I better go. Get some sleep, baby. I'll call you in the morning."  
"Okay."  
"I love you. Stop making yourself crazy. Wait a couple months for that, okay?"  
Kyle laughed. "Shut up. I love you too."  
"Good. Night, babe."  
"Night." Kyle ended the call and laid back into the cushy sofa, draping her arm over her forehead. She sighed. The first night without him and she was about to fall asleep on the couch. It was probably better that way. At this point the bed just made her want him there anyway.


	15. Chapter 15

"How's Chicago?"  
"Boring," Kyle answered with an enormous yawn. She was stuck at O'Hare for another ninety minutes, waiting not so patiently for the final leg of her trip that would end in the arms of the man on the other side of the call. "I just wanna be in LA already. I hate airports."  
"Does anyone like them?" Chris asked with a laugh. There was a pause before he cleared his throat. "Just a few more hours, babe. Then you're all mine."  
"You picking me up?"  
It was now Chris's turn to sigh. "Unfortunately not. I've got a bunch of press stuff to get done before the premiere...but...my mother will be there with bells on." He winced ever so slightly, knowing her reaction would likely be less than favorable.  
"What?" Kyle asked with a laugh, positive she'd misheard him. "You're kidding, right?"  
"Should I be?"  
"Chris!" Kyle exclaimed. "It's a little weird, isn't it? Considering we've never met, don't you think you should be there for it?"  
"And I would love to be, babe," Chris stated, "but if I want to get this shit done so I can spend the next five days with you, I've got to work."  
"I get that. But your mom doesn't have to get me. I can call a cab or something. Seriously."  
"It's a little late for that," Chris said with a chuckle. She was freaking out and he knew it. Though to be honest, he didn't understand why. "Look, baby, she's already jazzed about it. She's got a whole afternoon planned: dresses, hair, makeup, the whole nine yards. She's really excited to spend time with you."  
Kyle's forehead rested in the palm of her hand. She was breaking a sweat even though she'd previously been cold. "Why are you doing this to me?"  
"It's not a big deal, Ky. It's a good thing!"  
"I'm not good with parents, Chris. I'm gonna be a nervous wreck and ruin everything."  
"Okay, one, calm down. You're overreacting here," he stated firmly. "Two, you're not going to ruin anything. That's impossible. She knows how much you mean to me and that is literally all that matters to her. She's the most chill woman you could ever possibly meet. I promise you." Despite his attempts at reassuring her, Kyle remained silent, which had never meant good things for him before. He chuckled a bit. "Baby, you gotta relax. Please. I can practically see you over there about to have a panic attack."  
"I'm fine," Kyle stated softly. "I just... I don't wanna mess this up. I know how much your family means to you and if your mom hates me..."  
"Shes not going to hate you, Kylie. She doesn't hate anyone. I love you and so will she. I know it. There's nothing you could do to ruin this, babe. You're stuck. For the rest of your life."  
Kyle finally cracked. Even from across the country he knew just what to say to put her at ease. "That sounds pretty final there, movie star."  
"Oh, what?" Chris smirked. "You mean like ring on your finger, white dress, walking down the aisle kind of final?"  
"Sounded like it."  
"Then, yeah. I think you got the picture."  
Kyle laughed, fidgeting in her seat. "Been ring shopping have you?"  
"Not yet, but it is on the top of the to do list," Chris answered. "You're not even gonna fight me on this, huh?"  
Kyle sighed, still smiling. "Why would I? Man of my dreams wants to spend the rest of his life with me? Who am I to argue?"  
"Well in that case, we've got five days and Vegas is maybe a five hour trip..." Chris's voice trailed off. "I'm joking...I think."  
Kyle laughed. "I have a feeling you're not."  
"I have a feeling you're right." Chris gulped. "I miss you, a lot. You know that, right?"  
"Of course I do, baby," Kyle stated. She took a deep breath. "Don't you have work to do?"  
"Stop pushing me. I'm talking to my girlfriend, alright?" Chris quipped, but he glanced at his watch and realized his girl was unfortunately right. "Okay fine. You win. I gotta get going."  
Kyle laughed. "Good boy."  
"I will be running around like mad until we meet for the premiere so I won't see you until you get to the hotel. I already told my mom, but you guys need to be there at five if you're going with me, especially you if you're walking."  
"I got it, hon."  
"You don't have to walk if you don't want to. There's a rear entrance. They can drop you off there."  
"I know, Christopher. We've been over this. I told you, I'm all in."  
"Okay. Then I will see you in...about eight hours."  
"I can't wait."  
"Me either. Love you."  
"Love you too," Kyle stated. After one more muffled goodbye, they both hung up, Chris headed for a packed day of interviews and Kyle on a plane ride that couldn't end fast enough.

Kyle had worried for nothing. Chris's mother, Lisa was every bit as amazing as he had made her out to be. In fact within the first five minutes, Kyle felt more comfortable with her than she did with her own mother. Not that it took much. The two spent their hours together getting their hair and makeup done for the premiere and picking out a dress for Kyle's first red carpet appearance. Short and fitted, black lace with long sleeves and a high neckline; she wasn't one for dressing up usually, but this...this made her feel worthy of the movie star's arm she was about to be on. Matching blood red lips and heels, her hair shining in loose waves, and she was ready, or at least as ready as she was going to be.  
The entire cast was holed up at a hotel, ten minutes away from the theater, waiting for the call to make their entrance. Cars and SUVs and people were everywhere as Lisa and Kyle were dropped at the door and the lobby was no different. Kyle couldn't even see her Chris, though she seemed to catch someone else's eye.  
"Well hi there," Chris's costar/buddy Jeremy Renner greeted, clueless to the girl's identity.  
"Hi," Kyle said with a smile. She knew who he was and was trying not to be dismissive, but the only thing on her mind was finding her Captain.  
"You looking for somebody?" Jeremy asked with a sly smile.  
"Actually, yes," Kyle stated.  
"Maybe I can help you."  
"You know where Chris is?"  
Jeremy froze, his mouth agape, then chuckled, embarrassed. "You're Kyle."  
"I am," Kyle grinned, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jeremy."  
"Well that's slightly embarrassing," Jeremy stated, still chuckling as he shook the girl's hand. "He undersold your attractiveness."  
"I'll have to talk to him about that."  
"You definitely should. Come on. I'll get you to him." Jeremy extended his arm and Kyle looped hers around, making small talk as Jeremy led her through the immense crowd of people to a less cluttered back corner, where Chris stood, deep in conversation with another costar, Chris Hemsworth.  
"Here we are," Jeremy grinned.  
"Why thank you, sir," Kyle replied. "Very kind of you."  
"I'll distract him. Let's make this entrance worth it," Jeremy said with a wink as he walked up behind the man in question. He quickly slapped him on the back. "Man, I gotta tell you. Just met the hottest girl at the party."  
Chris scoffed, eyeing him skeptically. "That so?"  
"Yeah man. Dark hair, legs a mile long. She's probably taller than me but that's part of the appeal," Jeremy stated.  
"So where is she?" Chris chuckled.  
"Oh right there," Jeremy said, slapping his friend's back yet again and tipping his head behind them.  
Chris slowly turned around and rolled his eyes the second he spotted Kyle. "Cute, real cute. You hitting on my girlfriend?"  
"That may have happened," Jeremy answered as Chris quickly walked away from his boys.  
"Finally," he said softly as he arrived in front of Kyle. Without even a hello he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pressed his lips firmly into hers. After a bit he pulled away. "I'm gonna be covered in red lipstick now, aren't I?"  
Kyle giggled brightly, her hands clasped together behind his neck. "Smudge proof. You're good," she said with a wink.  
"Mm. In that case..." His sentence just led into another, longer kiss. When he pulled away he pressed his forehead into hers. "Hi. You look incredible."  
Kyle couldn't wipe the smile on her face. "You look pretty good there, too, movie star."  
"I missed you."  
"I missed you too."  
Chris pried his head from hers and looked around. "Did you lose my mom?"  
"Uh, no. She and Scott are waiting up front. Sent me into the depths to find you."  
"Was it totally as awful as you anticipated?"  
"Not at all. She's perfect."  
"I told you."  
"We got along so well in fact, she's thinking of adopting me. So, I guess we're gonna be brother and sister."  
"Ok, that's gross," Chris said with a laugh as he took her hand in his. He had missed this, so much. Having her there, her smile, her voice, just feeling her hand in his. He hadn't been this happy since Vegas nearly five weeks before. "Come on. Lemme introduce you to everybody. Though, I hear you already met Jeremy."  
"Yeah I'm thinking if you and I don't work out, I've got a totally viable back up option."  
"Ouch. From weddings to replacements in just a day."  
"Oh you haven't even introduced me to Robert yet. It probably only gets worse from here."  
"Ya know...now that you mention it, I don't think he's gonna be here..."  
"No?"  
"No. Pretty sure he came down with polio or something."  
"That's terrible."  
"It is...really, really tragic." The couple just laughed, their hands wrapped around each other's, gazing into each other's eyes. Chris pulled her to a stop. "I'm really glad you're here. I didn't wanna do this without you."  
Kyle smiled sweetly and brushed her hand against his bearded cheek. "Well that's not something you ever have to worry about."  
Chris beamed and leaned in for a shorter peck. "I love you."  
"I love you too."  
"Alright! Enough sappy shit!" Jeremy interrupted. "Time to get this show on the road!"  
"What about your date?" Chris asked with a smirk.  
"You stole her, you son of a bitch. More of a reason for me to go drink my pain away." Jeremy's sentence faded as he walked away.  
Kyle laughed. "He's hysterical."  
"He's an asshole," Chris corrected, shaking his head. PR people began rounding up the stars and everyone in their parties as the attention shifted toward the doors. "Did he really hit on you?"  
"No...not really. I think he was going to but I said I was looking for you and it hit him."  
Chris chuckled. "He's not living this down. Ever. I'm never letting it go."  
"Be nice," Kyle scolded playfully. "Though he did say you undersold my attractiveness. I don't know how I feel about that."  
"What the fuck? He's throwing me under the bus? Renner, you're dead!" Chris called out through the sea of people.  
"Bring it on, cupcake!" An invisible voice came calling back.  
Kyle just giggled and shook her head as Lisa and Scott joined the duo. She took a deep breath and looked around. Despite the stark difference from her every day life, she didn't feel out of place, and for her, that meant everything. 

"I need to get these stupid shoes off...now," Kyle stated with a sigh as she and Chris finally arrived at his Los Angeles apartment. It was gorgeous, spacious, cozy, with an incredible view looking over the city. Lisa had elected to stay with Scott, allowing the couple to have some alone time, which neither was sad about.  
It was nearly two in the morning, which with the time difference meant Kyle had been up for nearly 24 hours. She was beat, but found it'd been incredibly worth it.  
After the movie, (which like every other piece of the Marvel franchise, had been incredible) the cast and crew and a few lucky fans had made their way to the after party, drinks and dancing, laughs and stories abound. Kyle had met every single member of Chris's Avengers family and they had all been nothing but amazing. She'd never imagined she would've felt so welcome in such a famous group, yet here she was.  
She stopped in the entryway and braced herself against the wall, plucking the four inch maroon suede heels from her feet and dropping them carelessly on the wood floor. "Thank the lord," she sighed euphorically.  
Chris chuckled and glanced at her as he laid his suit jacket on the back of the sofa. "You good now?" He asked, loosening the bright cobalt tie around his neck.  
"Better," Kyle stated, walking toward him. She glanced around. The contents of his apartment were fairly minimal, reserved for a few pictures and books neatly placed in their respective spots. "This is way cleaner than your place back home."  
Chris chuckled. "Because I'm never here. And there's a cleaning lady."  
"I knew it wasn't you," Kyle grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face into the crease of her neck. She sighed contentedly and stroked his dark hair before laying a kiss on his forehead. "What's on tap for tomorrow?"  
"Not a damn thing," Chris answered before standing up straight. "Thursday is Disneyland with the family but tomorrow is nothing."  
"We're going to Disneyland?" Kyle asked with a laugh.  
"Hell yeah we are."  
"I've never been."  
"I know. That's why we're going," Chris stated.  
"My overgrown child," Kyle said with a smile as he stared down at her. Without her enormous shoes she felt small next to him and she loved every second of it.  
Chris smirked and shrugged. "Give me a real one and I'll use that as an excuse."  
Kyle laughed loudly. "Pump the breaks, Cap. We'll get there."  
"Right. Because we both have so much spare time," Chris said with a sigh.  
"Things change."  
"You telling me you're gonna give up being at the restaurant 24/7 to have a baby?" he questioned as he headed back for the bedroom.  
Kyle was quick at his heels. "Hey, you've already gotten me away from the place a lot more than I've ever been, so don't put it on me."  
Chris turned to look at her and smiled almost shyly. "You don't even sound like yourself anymore."  
"What do you mean?"  
"The girl I met eight months ago didn't even think of settling down or kids or anything like that and...now here you are, not even batting an eye."  
Kyle shrugged. "Guess it never felt right before."  
"Does it now?" Chris asked with a grin as she arrived in his arms once again.  
"I'm standing here talking about it, aren't I?"  
"You are," Chris nodded as her face drew closer to his.  
"Then why are you asking dumb questions?" Kyle retorted.  
"You're an ass," Chris quipped, waving his head back and forth, his shoulders rising and falling with quiet laughter.  
"You love me."  
"I do," he said softly before his lips brushed hers. The kiss drew on, long and passionate, every second of their separation disappearing in that instant. Chris sighed happily, a smirk strewn across his face as he pulled away. "I love you," he said softly.  
"I love you too," Kyle responded before he left a smaller peck on the tip of her nose. "I need out of this dress."  
"Easily done."  
Kyle laughed and spun around. "Unzip me." He obliged her command and took down the long zipper on the back of her dress. "Is my luggage here?"  
"Yup. Right over there," he stated before his lips softly hit her shoulder.  
His warm breath tickled as she pulled away. "I am gonna wash this makeup off and get ready for bed."  
"I will be patiently waiting."  
"Good." She kissed him once more before heading to her luggage in the corner of the room. She dug out a change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.  
Kyle wasn't gone more than fifteen minutes. Enough time to wash her face, throw up her hair, change and brush her teeth, but when she walked into the bedroom, Chris was already curled up fast asleep. She laughed lightly and clicked off the lights before crawling in bed beside him. Though still dozing, he rolled toward her, an arm and a leg quickly wrapping over her. She sighed and cuddled in as closely as their bodies would allow. She smiled as she listened to his breathing in the dark and before she even thought twice, she was fast asleep. Fast asleep in the only place she wanted to be.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

It was as if she blinked and the entire trip was over. A day to themselves, three days at Disneyland, another holed up in the movie star's LA digs and now here she was, at a beach party in Malibu, a mere twenty six hours from her departure. She wasn't ready, not in the least. And that was about the only thing she knew at the moment.  
"Hey kiddo."  
Kyle turned to the voice coming from the patio behind her. "Hey handsome!" she greeted as Jeremy walked toward her. "When'd you get here?"  
"Um...about four point two seconds ago," Jeremy Renner answered with a laugh as he embrace the girl and slid into the open side of the wicker love seat. "How goes it?"  
"Good," Kyle said with a single nod. "I'm beat. Disney with the Evans crew wore me out."   
"I can imagine," Jeremy said with a chuckle. "The entire Evans clan at the happiest place on Earth? Especially that one?" he said, nodding in Chris's direction. "The world's largest overgrown child."  
Kyle beamed, looking to her man in the midst of a sand volleyball tournement. "He as the worst...but it was adorable. He's adorable." The girl fell silent and her eyes drifted to her hands, picking off her red carpet manicure. "His whole family is adorable. Every single one of them. It's ridiculous."  
"They're like one of those old sitcom families, Leave It To Evans or some shit. Minus the racism," Jeremy stated. Kyle laughed but continued to stare at the ground. Jeremy watched her a moment then cleared his throat. "Alright, what's wrong with you? You're not the firecracker I met the other night. Chris being a moron?"  
"No. God, no," Kyle answered quickly. "He's fine...he's...perfect." She shook her head and scoffed. "I just...I don't wanna go home. I don't wanna leave him. I don't wanna be without him, certainly not until October."   
"Take it this is the first big absence?"  
Kyle nodded slowly. "I mean...he was gone for two weeks super early on, but...since then we've been together almost every day. And if we weren't together, I knew I could get to him if I wanted to."  
"You still can. Just might take a bit longer." His words were meant to be comforting but he could tell they hadn't done any good. "Look, babe, I know it's gonna be rough. I won't sugarcoat it. It's going to straight up suck at times and there will probably be days that you just wanna give up. You're gonna be tired and stressed, he's gonna be tired and stressed, you're gonna fight over tiny, stupid shit and you're gonna miss the hell out of each other, but you've gotta remember this. You've gotta think about now, these moments and how much you care about each other, how much you love each other and...you'll make it. Make time for trips every now and then, even if it's just for the day, phone calls, texts, it's work. But it's fucking worth every second."  
Kyle smiled broadly. "He's definitely worth it."  
"And so are you. So there you go."  
Kyle grinned and leaned into Jeremy's shoulder. "You're pretty good at this."  
"Well you wouldn't know that by my track record, but..."  
"Hey there beautiful," Chris greeted, jogging up to the duo.  
"Hey sexy," Jeremy retorted.  
"Was definitely not talking to you," Chris chuckled before dipping his head and planting a kiss on his lady. "This asshole bothering you?"  
"Hey! Fuck off! I'm actually being extremely helpful, okay?"  
"That's a first," Chris smirked, squeezing his broad shouldered body into the much too small space left on the love seat. It was ridiculously uncomfortable and Jeremy soon stood up.   
"Well as much fun as that was, I need a drink. I will see you guys in a minute."  
As Jeremy walked back toward the house, Chris pulled Kyle into his arms. "You okay?" he asked, pressing his lips into the top of her head. "You're super quiet."  
"I'm good, babe," Kyle assured, looking back at him. "Just tired."  
"We could've stayed home."  
"It's okay. I wanted to hang out with your friends."  
"You sure you're alright? We can go."  
"I am fine, babe. Stop."  
"Alright, alright. Perk up, then. And come play volleyball."  
Kyle let out an annoyed whine. "I'm so bad though."  
"I don't care," Chris stated, grabbing both of her hands and pulling her up as she continued to groan and object. "I just wanna stare at your ass anyway."   
"You're awful."  
"You love me."

"Y'all are terrible! Just fucking terrible!" Anthony called from the opposite side of the net. "Just quit now and save yourself the embarrassment."   
"Hey! We're going for the rally, alright!?" Chris shouted back. He stooped down and picked up the volleyball from the sand before turning to his team. "Okay guys, we really need to pull this shit together."   
"I told you I was awful," Kyle stated.   
"She wasn't lying," the blonde PA, Jen, mumbled under her breath. The girl was tall and thing, tan and modelesque, and grinding on Kyle's last nerve. She'd been glued to Chris pretty much the entire day; glued to Chris and ignoring Kyle's existence.   
Kyle glared. "Thank you."  
"You said it," Jen shrugged. "Evans, your serve."  
Chris winked at Kyle before moving to his spot on the back line. Kyle grumbled and took her place in front of him, Jen to her left and Sebastian Stan in the back line.   
Chris took a deep breath. "Ugh, two serving seven." He slapped the ball over the net. Mackie's team quickly returning it and back and forth and back again.   
"Got it!" Kyle called, the ball coming directly at her. She squared herself up in its path, ready and perfectly capable to set it back over the net. But before returning she could, Jen jumped in. As the blonde wound up for a spike, her elbow cracked Kyle square in the nose sending the chef butt first into the sand.   
"Oh shit!" Chris exclaimed, rushing toward his girl and no longer paying attention to the game. "Babe, you ok?"  
"Fucking fuck," Kyle groaned, her hands cupped over her nose. "Jesus Christ."  
"Lemme see. Lemme see," Chris commanded, taking a knee at her side.   
"Um hello, we scored," Jen stated, her eyes flooding to her teammates surrounding the girl. "Oh for God's sake, she's fine."   
"Baby, look at me," Chris commanded, his hands trying to pull Kyle's away from her face. As he finally got her to give in, he and Sebastian both winced, teeth gritted. "Oh fuck..."  
"I'll get ice. And a towel," Sebastian said, springing to his feet and darting toward the house.   
"She's fine!" Jen exclaimed. "It's just a little blood!"  
"Jen, stop," Chris commanded, helping his girlfriend to her feet. "Come on, babe. Let's get you inside."  
"Oh come on..." Jen groaned.  
"Chill out," Anthony commanded. "You just busted the girl's face. Give em a minute." He tossed down the volleyball and headed inside after his friends.  
"Here, sit down," Chris stated, pulling out a stool at the kitchen island and leading Kyle to it. Sebastian instantaneously arrived carrying a bag of ice and an unfortunately white towel.   
"Tip your head back," Sebastian instructed, putting the towel to the girl's face. "Hold that there."   
"Do we need to go to the ER?" Chris asked, washing the blood that had transferred to his hands off. "Is it broken?"  
"I think it'd be a good call," Sebastian stated. "Better safe than sorry."  
"I'm fine," Kyle argued, her voice muffled by the fluffy towel on her face.   
"Yeah I really think we should go get another opinion on that," Chris insisted.   
"Stop. The girl said she's fine, she's fine," Jen stated, sauntering into the kitchen for another beer. "It's just a little blood."   
"Get her the fuck outta here before I give her one to match," Kyle said angrily.  
"Excuse me?" Jen fired back. "Who are you talking to?"  
"You," Kyle snarled as she dropped the towel and glares at the girl. "The only one who hit me in the fucking face."   
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, still bleeding!" Sebastian exclaimed. "Put that back there." He pushed Kyle's hands back to her face and turned to the blonde. "Jen, just go back outside. Please."   
"Seriously?!" Jen exclaimed. "You're siding with her?!"  
"There's no sides!" Chris interjected.   
"She broke my fucking nose!" Kyle cried.   
"I thought it wasn't broken," Jen said in a mocking tone.   
"Enough!" the usually calm Chris exclaimed. "Jen, go. Now."  
"Chris, come on!"  
"Jen, please. Let me deal with one stubborn woman at a time, please?" Chris begged. Jem rolled her sunglass covered eyes but exited the house. The blue eyed hunk then turned his direction to his lady. "Alright, you. Let's go. We're going to the ER."   
"Chris, I'm..."  
"Stop it. I'm not arguing with you. You're going to the hospital. Stop being a pain and let's go."   
Kyle looked over at Sebastian for words of sympathy but she didn't get any. Instead she got: "You should listen."  
"I'm picking up on that," Kyle sighed.

After getting a clean bill of health (aside from the nasty swelling), Kyle was released from the ER with nothing but pain medication. And although the party was without a doubt still going strong, the couple had decided they'd had enough excitement for one day and got on the road back to Los Angeles.  
"So what the hell is Jen's problem?" Kyle asked, removing the hospital issued ice pack from her face.   
"It was an accident," Chris stated simply.   
"Um, yeah I don't really think it was," Kyle argued with a laugh.  
Chris shook his head. "I really think it was, Ky. Jen's not that kind of girl."   
"Chris, I called it. I had the shot. I know enough about volleyball to know the rules."  
"She's just competitive. That's all."   
"Why are you defending her?"  
"I'm not!" Chris exclaimed.   
"You've banged her, haven't you?"  
"What?! Kylie..."  
"Christopher."  
He knew he wasn't getting out of it and bowed his head. "It was...a really long time ago..."  
"You did!" Kyle exclaimed with a triumphant laugh. "Oh my God, that explains everything."  
"No. It doesn't explain anything. It was once and we were both drunk. It... It didn't mean anything..."  
"To you! She obviously feels differently."  
"Stop. That's not what this is about, okay? It was an accident."   
"She was treating me like garbage long before she punched me in the face."  
"She didn't punch you..."  
"Oh I'm sorry. Elbowed my nose practically off my face."   
"Jen and I talked about it, okay? It was a one time thing."   
"And she wants more."   
"Stop it," Chris commanded. "It's a nonissue so just knock it off."   
"Mhmm. Right. So glad I'm leaving you alone with THAT for five months."   
"What're you saying?" Chris asked.  
"Nothing about you. She's just obviously a psycho, so."   
"Can we stop talking about this, please? I'm getting really aggravated."   
"Sorry. Didn't realize it was a sensitive subject."   
"It's not a sensitive subject," Chris said with a dejected sigh. "It just doesn't matter so there's no reason to talk about it. I didn't have feelings for her, I don't have feelings for her. We got wasted during one of Mara's famous breaks and I made a mistake, okay? That's it. That's all there is to it."   
"Okay," Kyle said. "Okay. I'm done. I'll stop."   
"Thank you," Chris sighed. There was a long lull in the conversation before Chris looked over at his girl. He pursed his lips and gulped, reaching for Kyle's hand. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to snap at you. I just...I don't wanna spend our last few hours together arguing about something stupid. And trust me, it was stupid. Really stupid."  
"Okay," Kyle agreed with a comforting smile, holding tightly onto his hand. "I won't mention her again."   
Chris smirked. "I love you."   
"I love you too... Even though I can barely see who you are right now."  
Chris laughed. "Aw. Poor thing," he said, pulling her hand to his lips. "I'm just glad it's not busted."   
"You and me both."  
"I'm probably not getting any tonight, am I?"  
Kyle laughed loudly, her head tipping back onto the seat behind her. "I wouldn't say that, but you're definitely doing all the work."  
"Fine with it," Chris grinned. He paused. "No more fighting."   
"None," Kyle agreed with a wave of her head. It didn't matter anyway. The person she wanted to fight was still at the beach house.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Come on, man. One drink," Jeremy pleaded as he and Chris finally arrived back into their Atlanta hotel late one July evening. The guys and the rest of the cast and crew had been onset for nearly thirteen hours that day, and as Atlanta summer tradition stated, the weather was boiling. At this point, Chris was practically sucked dry of any amount of energy he once had.  
Chris's head waved slowly back and forth as he trudged through the lobby. "Man, I'm wrecked. I really just wanna shower and go to bed."  
"You gotta at least eat, right?"  
"Room service."  
"Dude, it's only one o'clock. Just one drink."  
Chris chuckled lightly. "It's never one drink with you. I...appreciate the offer, just not tonight, man."  
"Please. I've got some friends visiting and they'd really like to meet you."  
"Well, they're gonna have to wait until tomorrow, alright? I'm sorry," Chris stated as the boys came to a standoff in the lobby. Chris stayed firmly planted, close to the elevators, reaching for the up button almost mischievously. Jeremy on the other hand placed himself more in the middle, closer to the bar entrance.  
"Chris, you really..."  
"Stop. Not happening," Chris refused once more as his elevator dinged its arrival. "Goodnight."  
Jeremy sighed defeatedly and glared as his now blonde pal disappeared behind the shiny metal doors. He shook his head and turned on his heels, headed into r hotel bar where his friends waited.  
"Sorry ladies, no luck," he sighed as he arrived at a table near the back. "Someone's being a spoilsport."  
Kyle, in town with her fresh summer bob, laughed before taking a drink of her whiskey and coke. "Not surprised. He's been telling me all day how tired he is."  
"So why'd you coerce me into your little scheme then?" Jeremy inquired as he slid into the booth next to Margo. "He's all pissy that I wouldn't quit bugging him now."  
"Coerce?" Kyle scoffed. "I coerced you? Good one." She polished off her drink and stood up. "Well, friends. It looks like I'm gonna have to go to him then. What room?"  
"1213," Jeremy answered, digging into the pocket of his jeans. He reached out to her, a keycard in his hand. "You're gonna need this though. We're on the penthouse floor. Can't get in without it."  
"You don't need it?"  
"I got an extra."  
Kyle then turned her attention to Margo. "You gonna be okay with this one? He's kind of a handful."  
Margo laughed. "I'll be fine. I'll just make him buy me dinner or something. Go get your man."  
Kyle smiled sweetly. "I'll see you guys later." She gave the duo a quick wave and was off, more than ready to wrap her arms around the man of her dreams. 

"Fucking Christ, Renner!" Chris exclaimed, hustling out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts as there was a pounding on the front door. His body was still glistening with beads of water from his shower as he rushed toward the door of his expansive penthouse suite.  
"Dude, I said..." he began as he opened the door. However, his annoyed tone instantly disappeared as his eyes landed upon the girl in front of him. "What the fuck?!" he exclaimed, tears filling his blue eyes as he excitedly wrapped his arms around Kyle, lifting her from the ground as she giggled. "What are you doing here?!"  
"You sounded like you could use some cheering up," Kyle answered, grinning brightly in triumph as Chris practically spun her around like some sort of Disney princess. "You're going me all wet!"  
"I was in the shower! I thought you were Jeremy coming to..." His voice trailed off and one could practically see the realization of what was going on come over his face. "And you were the friend in the bar he wanted me to meet."  
Kyle laughed and nodded as he finally put her feet back on the ground. "Well me and Margo, but someone was being an ass..."  
"Well if I had known it was you..." Chris said through gritted teeth before he pressed his lips firmly against hers. The kiss was hard, long and passionate. He hadn't seen his girl since the premiere in May, so this moment was over two months in the making. After a good long while he pulled back, smiling brighter than he had in weeks. "God, I missed you."  
"I missed you too, baby," Kyle beamed, placing her hands against his baby smooth cheeks. She laughed, the feeling of his bare face under her hands unusual to the touch. "This is so weird. You don't look like...you..."  
Chris chuckled. "Not into the blue eyed, boy next door superhero look?"  
"Oh I definitely did not say that. It's just weird. I've never actually SEEN you like this."  
"Well don't worry because the second we're done filming, the beard comes back and the hair goes away."  
"I feel like I'm having an affair. It's kind of exciting."  
Chris arched an eyebrow. "Exciting?"  
"Well it's still you, dumbass."  
"There it is. I knew you couldn't be nice much longer."  
"Oh, you wanna fight now?" Kyle snarled playfully as she began poking at him.  
"Stop it," Chris commanded, swatting at her hands. "I'm gonna win."  
"Prove it."  
"You really wanna do this, huh?"  
"Mhmm."  
"Alright then." Without a second thought, Chris stooped over, hoisting the giggling, squirming woman onto his shoulders. "You asked for it." He reached back with his leg and kicked the door shut. Suddenly all the exhaustion and stress he'd felt before were nowhere to be found. 

Chris attempted to catch his breath, stroking Kyle's hair as her head lay on his immaculately waxed chest. He was in full on Steve Rogers mode: slightly longer than normal hair, tinted the slightest bit blonde, no beard, no chest hair, nothing. The only reason his tattoos were visible was he'd washed all the makeup off in the shower. "Good call with the surprise visit," he said softly, quickly kissing her forehead. "I feel better already."  
Kyle snickered. "Gee I wonder why," she said sarcastically, looking up into his baby blues.  
Chris shook his head, grinning broadly. "Not what I meant...but it doesn't hurt."  
Kyle smiled and went back to laying on his chest, her fingertips tracing ever so softly against his skin. "You sounded really sad the other night. I couldn't NOT come see you. Had to do something."  
Chris tilted his head against hers. "I'm not sad, really. Just exhausted. Long days and it's like...a million degrees out and that suit is definitely not well ventilated..."  
"I don't imagine so."  
"I guess I'm probably homesick. I miss the family and you and...I don't know. I think...priorities are definitely changing."  
Kyle's face was hidden from his view but he could feel her smile. "We're almost there, baby," she reassured.  
"Three more months."  
"Well, we've already made it three so...what's three more?" Kyle said in an optimistic tone as she rolled onto the pillow behind her. "Halfway there."  
"Well it feels like eternity," Chris stated, sliding down onto his pillow so their eyes were directly across from each other. He rolled onto his side and tucked an arm under the fluffy down pillow. "I sound like a real bitch right now, huh?"  
"No," Kyle chuckled. "You're just having an off day. I have em too."  
"You never whine this much."  
"Not to you. You should go ask Margo though. She could tell you some stories."  
Chris sighed. "I think...when I get back...we should...discuss our next step."  
"And what's that?" Kyle asked with a coy smirk.  
"I don't know...maybe...combining our things into a singular place?"  
"You wanna move in together?"  
Chris shrugged, attempting to remain nonchalant. "Maybe."  
"Maybe? I don't operate on maybes."  
"I mean, if you want to..."  
"Well, my apartment is...quite spacious."  
"I do love your apartment."  
"I think we could look into it," Kyle smirked.  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah."  
"Cool," Chris said, simply nodding his head.  
Kyle burst into laughter. "You're so weird."  
"Oh shut up," Chris commanded as his cell phone on the bedside table rang out w shrill song. "Ugh. Ignore it."  
"Maybe it's important."  
"It's not. What's important is right here." After a moment the ring fell silent, just to start up again after a few seconds. "Goddammit." Chris rolled over and grabbed the phone, grumbling the entire time. He rolled his eyes the second he saw the name on the screen, but answered anyway. "Yeah? No. No, I'm good. I'm not going anywhere. Well, for one, Kyle's here... Yup. Okay. Bye." He hung up and clicked the phone to silent before placing it face down back on the table. "There. No more."  
"Mack?"  
"Unfortunately, no. Jen. Trying to get me to go out."  
Kyle rolled her eyes at the sound of her nemesis's name. "My favorite."  
Chris shook his head, placing the back of his hand over his eyes. "I don't know what her fucking problem is. She was never like this with Mara...not that Mara was ever really around."  
"She sees me as competition."  
"Ha! There is zero competition. You won that a long, long time ago."  
"Doesn't matter. She's basically in love with you. I don't know why you refuse to admit it."  
"Because it's stupid and I'd rather ignore it."  
"How's that working out?"  
"Not well because she won't leave me the fuck alone."  
"I gotta say, the way she acts, I find it kind of hard to believe you guys only messed around once." Kyle just stared at Chris as he remained hidden behind his arm silently. "Chris? You still with me?"  
"Yeah."  
"It was once, right? One drunken hookup. That's what you told me."  
Chris took a deep breath, too deep for Kyle to be comfortable. "Ok, so...it never meant anything...not to me anyway..."  
"Chris!" Kyle fried, sitting up and pulling the bed sheet with her to cover her bare frame. "You lied to me!"  
"I didn't mean to!" Chris exclaimed, following suit and sitting up straight against the cushy headboard. "I just...it was dumb and it's not worth starting problems over."  
"I think I should be the judge of that."  
Chris sighed. "Okay, it happened more than once. But it wasn't like a thing. Every time Mara and I took a break, I'd hit her up, work out some...aggression and be done. That was it. That is literally all it ever was to me. It was shitty, I was shitty and I know that and I didn't want you to think it was any more important than it was."  
"Well, it was obviously important to her."  
"Yeah, I thought we were on the same page but I'm getting now that we definitely t not," Chris stated softly. He looked at his girlfriend. Her mouth as silent but he could read the million thoughts rushing through her head. "Please don't be mad at me."  
"You want me to be fucking happy?" Kyle asked with a laughed. "I just found out you've been lying to me for like two months."  
"I know. I'm sorry."  
"How long?"  
"What?"  
"How long did your little...arrangement go on?"  
"I don't know," Chris sighed as he began thinking. "It was only when Mara and I called things off. There's not really a set time..."  
"Just answer the fucking question, Chris."  
"I don't know. Maybe four months all together."  
"Jesus Christ," Kyle scoffed. "That's not a thing, Chris. That's a fucking relationship."  
"Not to me!"  
"Well to her it was! It would've been to me too!" Kyle exclaimed. "You had...like just broken up with Mara for good when we met, so were you sleeping with her when you started chasing me?"  
"No! God, no. That was over before I came back to Boston too."  
"How long before?"  
"Maybe like...two weeks?"  
"Oh for fucks sake. No wonder she fucking hates me. I fucking stole you."  
"No you didn't," Chris said dismissively.  
"To her I did. Come on, dude. You're smarter than this. Everything I'm hearing right now is not the man I know."  
"I know, that's why I didn't tell you," Chris stated. "I'm not proud of it. I know I was a jackass. To her and to a lot of people at that time. Mara and I were really unhealthy together and it fucked me up and I did stupid shit."  
"Yeah well, Mara doesn't have shit to do with you lying to me."  
"No. She doesn't. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, ok? I should've told. You from the g go and I know that. I was just...scared and stupid I guess. I thought if I didn't talk about it or think about it, we could just forget it even happened and... That backfired immensely."  
Kyle sighed and wove her fingers into her dark, chin length locks. "I am going to say the exact same thing you said to me when I came clean about Antonio: I don't care about your past. I don't care if you treated her like scum, though it's completely out of character for you. I don't care if you cheat d on Mara with her. Hell I don't care if you guys had some sort of weird threesome relationship. I do not give a fuck. I care about what happens between you and me. I care that for the first time since we met, you thought that lying to me was the best option in this situation. We have never lied to each other, Chris. Never. We have shortcomings, sure, but honesty has never been one of them. So why start now? Why, after....almost ten months, did you think lying to me was the good thing to do?"  
Chris hung his head and shook it slowly, sadly. "I don't know. I really don't. I fucked up."  
"Yeah, you did," Kyle nodded. She paused and blinked back tears building in the corners of her green eyes. She was trying to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal, but she was hurt. He just broke her heart a little bit, no matter how stupid it sounded. "Do I need to be concerned that if we get into some huge fight that you're gonna immediately run off to her?"  
"No! God no!" Chris cried, his eyes wide and horrified at the fact she even had that thought. He slid toward her more and took her face in his hands. "I love you, Kylie..."  
"You loved Mara."  
He shook his head back and forth very deliberately. "No. Not like I love you, it was never like I love you. And honestly, at the point the Jen thing started, I didn't even care any more. I knew she was sleeping around and I was done. I was just too stupid to do anything about it," he argued. "Baby, look at me. Please."  
Kyle swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and obeyed. "I am sorry. I am so sorry. I fucked up huge her and I know that. I will do...whatever you need me to do to fix this. I swear to you. No more secrets. No more lies. This is it, I promise."  
Kyle's gulped and pulled out of his grasp, wiping the palms of her hand over the tears that had begun to fall. "You know she's gonna come in here and try to murder me in my sleep now, right?"  
Chris chuckled, pressing his forehead into hers. "There is no way I'm letting that happen."  
"Don't you ever lie to me again."  
"I won't, baby. I swear."  
Kyle gulped again. "Okay."  
Without moving his head, Chris planted his lips firmly on hers. "I love you. I really am sorry."  
"I know. I love you too." She wanted to forget it. She wanted to forget his revelation and go about their next four days together like it had never happened. She just didn't know if she could.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"I don't understand why he didn't just tell you in the first place," Margo stated as the girls sat at brunch the next morning. The boys had reported to set at eight that morning while the ladies were left to grab a few more hours of sleep and fend for themselves. Marvel was incredibly tight lipped about their goings on so the likelihood of the girls being allowed behind the curtains was slim. "Lying about it makes it seem so much shadier."  
"Exactly!" Kyle exclaimed. She shook her head and sighed. "I hate this. Like...I don't want to be mad at him. I really don't, but I am. I'm mad and I'm hurt. And it feels stupid to be this bothered. I mean, it's so small..."  
"No. No, it's not stupid. You have...every right to be upset. I would be."  
Kyle's head continued to wave back and forth. "This is...definitely not how this weekend was supposed to go," she stated with a bit of a sad laugh.  
Margo pouted and reached across the table for her best friend's hand. "I know it's hard, but... You've gotta try not to let it ruin everything," she advised. "You're hurt and you're upset and that is completely understandable but don't let it overshadow what you two have built. You're...absolutely amazing together. This is just a hiccup."  
"Well I'm not that mad," Kyle said with a laugh. "It's not like I'm gonna end things..."  
"Good."  
"I mean...you don't think there's a reason to end it. Do you?"  
"No. That's not what I'm saying..."  
"Do you think there's more? Do you think he's hiding more?"  
"No!" Margo exclaimed. "I didn't mean that at all, no."  
"I mean if you have concerns..."  
"Kyle, would you shut up?" Margo laughed. "Jesus Christ, just relax for a minute. Calm down. Breathe."  
Kyle didn't say anything, but took a deep breath and nodded.   
"Chris messed up. He did. I know that, you know that, HE knows that. But it was one thing, one...hurtful, but small thing. I'm not defending him and I'm not making excuses. But I believe that's it. And I believe he did it for good reasons. It was a stupid thing to do but his heart was in the right place. That boy loves you in...the most magical way. I know that for certain."  
Kyle chuckled, blinking back tears. "Thanks. I needed to cry more."  
"I'm not sorry," Margo laughed, "because it's all true. I'd kill to find what you've got. Hell, I think most of the world would."  
"I know. I know that," Kyle stated, hanging her head.   
"Don't do that now. You deserve it, so don't go trying to convince yourself otherwise. Stop looking for things to be wrong. Stop looking for reasons it won't work. Because you'll find em, but they'll all be in your head."  
Kyle nodded, cracking a weak smile. "You're right. You really are."  
"I'm marking that on the calendar. Kyle Donato admitted I was right."  
"Oh shut up."

"Ky?" Chris asked softly, trying to make the least intrusive entrance possible. "Babe, you here?"  
"Hey," Kyle said with a smile as she emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body, her bobbed haircut dripping onto her shoulders.   
"Hey," Chris smiled in return. He was scared. The whole day had been weird. Not a word was exchanged between the two and now he didn't know where he stood. "Whatcha been up too? You were quiet today."  
"Yeah, um....Margo and I just kind of bummed around. Did some shopping, hung out. Talked about things."  
Chris's expression grew worried as he dropped his backpack onto the sofa. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."  
Kyle laughed lightly. "You don't need to worry."  
"I don't?"   
"You don't," Kyle assured. "I know...you were just trying to...protect me in...your own completely not right way."  
"I really was..."  
"From now on though, no more. I need you to be honest with me. Even if you think it'll hurt because I promise you this hurt a lot more than the truth would've."  
"I know."  
Kyle cleared her throat. "And I need you to do something for me..."  
"Of course, baby. Anything," Chris stated stepping toward her. "Whatever you need."  
She gulped. She wasn't sure she was even comfortable saying what she was about to say, but she needed to. "I need you to talk to her. To tell her off, to cut her out of your life in every way. I'm not asking you to get her fired but..."  
"Baby, she's not in my life."  
"Yeah but she keeps trying to be and she's going to keep trying until you shut it down. And I know you. I know how sweet and kind and generous you are. I know you've never sat her down and talked to her."  
Chris grinned crookedly. "You're right."  
Kyle chuckled. "I know I am, because I know you," she stated, squaring up between Chris's legs as he sat on the edge of an endtable. "I don't like asking you for this..."  
"You're not asking me for anything that I am not 100% willing to do."  
"Really?"   
Chris smiled brightly. Brighter than he had all day. "Of course, baby. Did you think I'd fight you on it?"  
"Sort of. I mean, I kinda feel like it's s super shitty thing to ask someone to do."  
"No, no. It's not at all," Chris argued. "Look she's not even really a part of my life. We work together, yeah, but outside of that she kind of just shows up. I've never invited her. I've never asked her to be around and...if I need to make sure that the set is the only place we see each other then so be it. I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to keep you. If you...asked me to walk of this set tomorrow, I'd do it. No questions asked. I'd get...in a lot of trouble with a lot of people. But I would do it, so getting rid of someone I'm not even that fond of? Piece of cake."  
Kyle let out an enormous, relieved sigh and flung her arms around his neck as tightly as she could. "I love you."  
Chris released a sigh of his own as if he'd been holding his breath all day long. "I love you too," he whispered into the soft hair against his cheek. He pressed his lips into head, good and hard. "I'm so, so sorry I lied to you."  
"It's okay," Kyle said, pulling back and smiling broadly. "It's okay. We're gonna be okay."  
Chris sniffed and brushed the hair back that had fallen into her eyes. "Ah, God," he sighed. "I was freaking out all day. I really thought I had ruined this."  
Kyle shook her head wildly back and forth. "No. I just needed to think. To clear my head."  
"You're good now though?"  
"I'm good."  
"God, I love you," Chris stated. Without missing a beat, he stood, sliding his hand to the back of her head and kissing her, kissing her as passionately as he possibly could. There was nothing he wouldn't do for this girl and now he had to prove it. 

After a quick dinner, Kyle and Chris headed hand in hand into a quiet and dimly lit karaoke bar. Waiting there were Jeremy, Margo, Sebastian, Anthony and a few crew members Kyle didn't recognize, but the only person she saw was unfortunately Jen.   
"Ugh," Kyle instantly groaned. "Fucking perfect."  
"You wanna go?' Chris asked. "We can leave."  
"Too late," Kyle said softly, forcing a smile as Margo made her way over.   
"Hey guys!" Margo greeted with an exuberant smile as she approached her best friend and the movie star. "You look...happy..."  
Kyle laughed and glanced up at Chris. "We're good."  
"Yeah?" Margo asked. Both parties nodded. "Yay!" She exclaimed throwing her arms into the air. "Oh that's great news!"  
Chris laughed loudly, clutching his chest with one hand. "Keep it down a little bit, huh? People are gonna think we've got some huge announcement to make." In that moment his eyes met Jen's staring at him from across the room. He shook his head and sighed. "I'm gonna do this."  
"No, Chris. You don't have to do this here," Kyle stated.   
"No, no. I'm gonna get it over with. I should've done it a long time ago." Chris took a deep breath. "I'll be right back." He gave Kyle a quick peck on the lips before heading toward the blonde.   
"He's gonna tell her off?" Margo asked.   
"I guess so."  
"Well I hope they stay in here cuz I wanna see this shit."  
Kyle cracked up. "You're awful."  
"She's a bitch. I don't care."  
"I'll drink to that."

Chris exhaled slowly, his cheeks inflating as he and Jen walked onto the back patio. "Okay..."  
"Everything alright?" Jen asked with a nervous chuckled. "You seem on edge."  
"I'm fine, I just..." Chris was trying to compose his thoughts. He had to tell her to back off but he didn't want to rip her to pieces either. "Look, I know things between us have always been kind of crazy..."  
"They sure have," Jen laughed, giving the man a suggestive glance.   
Chris shook his head. "See. See that's where we have a problem. That...piece, that part of our relationship is done, Jen. It is...completely done."  
"Do you know how many times you've said that to me?"  
"It's different this time, Jen," Chris asserted. "Maybe...I should've had this conversation with you a long time ago. I mean there's really no maybe about it. I should've, but whatever this was is no more. I am... One hundred percent in love with Kyle. I am done with this. With us and...I need you to respect that."   
"Chris, come on..."  
"No, Jen, there's no Chris come on," Chris stated firmly. "You are trying to mess up something that means the absolute world to me and I'm not gonna let that happen."  
"I'm not trying to mess anything up, Chris. If she's insecure..."  
"She's insecure because I lied to her. That's my fault. In Malibu I let her believe we were a one time thing..."  
Jen scoffed. "That's one hell of a lie."  
"Stop!" Chris exclaimed. "Stop turning this into a joke!" He took a deep, calming breath. "Look, we had fun but it's done now and whatever game you're trying to play with Kyle is done too. You and me, we're coworkers. That's it. We're not buddies, we don't hang out or text or call. Nothing. Got it?"  
"So she's making you cut me off?" Jen asked. "That's real cute."  
"She's not making me do anything, Jen! I made a choice and it's the same choice I, going to make for the rest of my life: her. She's what matters."  
Jen's jaw clenched, barely believing the words she was hearing. "Okay."  
"Is that a real okay or..."  
"It's fine. Fine. Whatever you want I guess."  
"Okay. I'm gonna go back inside and enjoy my night with my girlfriend then."  
"Fine."  
"Okay." Chris gave her a solitary nod and turned back toward the door. That was much easier than he anticipated. 

Jeremy and Margo were onstage giving a rousing (and drunken) rendition of the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight." Seb, Anthony and Chris were in the front row, drinking and cheering and Kyle was at the bar grabbing the next round.   
"Kyle?"  
The brunette turned just to find herself face go face with her blonde nemesis. "Jen," she responded coldly. "Can I help you?"  
"You...think it's okay to tell Chris who he can and can't be friends with?"  
Kyle laughed dismissively. "That's not at all what happened..."  
"Sure, listen," Jen began, tasking a step closer. "If you think our past is the only thing he's lied to you about, you should really talk to him about what happens when he comes to LA."  
"Excuse me?"  
"Just trying to help a sister out," Jen said with a wink. "Your face looks much better by the way. Have a good night."   
Jen took headed for the front door and Kyle just stared after her, stunned. Her brain was churning so much she didn't even notice Captain America approaching behind her.   
"Hey," Chris spoke up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What was that? You okay?"  
Kyle already had tears welling in her eyes. She felt like her heart was about to burst right out of her chest. "Did you see her when you were in LA?"  
"What?" Chris asked.   
She quickly spun to face him, arms folded guardedly over her chest. "After we met, when you went to LA, did you see her? Because you told me last night that it was done weeks before we met. Right? Right Chris?"  
Chris sighed. "Let's go outside." He tried to take her by the elbow but she quickly yanked away before they even made it halfway to the door. "Okay, what did she say to you?"  
"It doesn't matter," Kyle snapped. "Tell me the truth. Did you see her?"  
Chris closed his eyes and groaned. "I went out with friends and she was there, yes..."  
"And after Vegas? You guys buddy up then too?"  
"Ky, it's not like that..."  
"Then what's it like, Chris?!" Kyle exclaimed. "Please fill me in!"  
"Nothing happened, Kyle. Nothing."  
"Am I supposed to believe you right now.? Because I honestly don't."  
"Fuck, babe!" Chris moaned exasperatedly. "What do you want me to say? I am telling you the truth. I swear on...everything I love. I saw her a couple of times, yes, but we were always with other people and nothing, NOTHING ever happened."  
Kyle just stood there, arms folded across her chest, jaw clenched, shaking her head. "That's not how it sounded."  
"Well who are you going to believe? Me or the girl actively trying to tear us apart?"  
"You mean the man who just got done lying to me for two months or the girl he was lying to me about? Is that what you mean?"  
"Kyle, don't. Don't do that. It was one lie and it was stupid, but it was just the one."  
"See...that's the thing about lies, Chris. They tend to make you doubt everything," Kyle said, her voice cracking as the tears began to roll.   
"Kyle," Chris said pleadingly, tears glistening in his own eyes. He reached out for her but she quickly dodged out of his grasp.   
"Don't " she said, shaking her head. "Don't touch me."  
"Baby, please. Let's go. Let's just go and talk about this..."  
Kyle shook her head. "I can't. Not right now. I need to get out of here."  
"Well let's go back to the hotel..."  
"No. I wanna be alone."  
"Kylie..."  
"Chris, just stop. I can't do this with you right now," Kyle stated. She sniffed. "Just go back inside and leave me alone." The girl wrapped her arms around herself and took a step closer to the street, putting her arm out to hail a cab.   
Chris stood there, watching her as she climbed into a taxi and disappeared down the darkened street. As the first drops of a cool rain began to fall, he felt like his world was crumbling around him...and he didn't know if he could stop it.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Chris was exhausted. The night before he returned from the bar with Jeremy, spending the night on his co-stars sofa. He tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning, not catching more than maybe an hour of sleep. Kyle, however, had told him to leave her alone, and in the fire of the previous evening, pushing her wasn't exactly something he wanted to do, so he had stayed away.  
When he did finally open the door to is own room at nine the next morning, he immediately found Kyle digging through her suitcase. They both stopped where they stood and simply, awkwardly stared at each other for a minute. Chris was at least mildly relieved when Kyle spoke first.  
"Hey."  
"Hey," he sighed, groggily. He shut the front door and unpacked his pockets on the entryway table; cigarettes, keys, wallet, all piling up.  
"You ok? You look...rough..."  
Chris shrugged. "Tired. Hungover. Jeremy's couch wasn't exactly where I envisioned my night ending."  
"You didn't have to stay gone ALL night. You could've come back. It's your room."  
Chris sighed. "Well you weren't exactly specific with your instructions." He leaned his tired frame up against the back of the couch. "Wasn't really looking to press my luck."  
"I just meant..." Kyle stopped and shook her head, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "Forget it. It's not worth it."  
There was a long silence. At least it felt long. It felt like eons before either spoke again. Finally Chris cleared his throat and spoke up. "What's going on?" he asked. "Where are we at here?"  
Kyle gave her shoulders a big and over exaggerated shrug. "I don't know."  
"Babe, we gotta figure it out," Chris stated. "You leave tomorrow and I sure as hell don't want to leave it like this."  
"Well I don't either."  
"So let's talk it out," Chris pleaded. "Letting Jen have this much power is exactly what she wants."  
"I don't know what I'm supposed to say right now."  
"So we just let her ruin everything we've built in the last...ten months? Just let her win?"  
"I didn't say that."  
"Every ounce of trust you have in me is just gone? Just like that?"  
"I didn't say that!" Kyle exclaimed. "How are you the one that gets to be upset here?! I'm not the one who fucked up! I'm not the one who banged a psycho and then set her loose. Although, now that I think about it, this feels a bit like the Logan situation in which you were quite pissed at me for literally NOTHING. Except you actually fucked up. I'm not imagining that."  
"I know I screwed up! I'm not saying I didn't!" Chris fired back. "I just don't think it's as serious as your reaction is."  
"Yeah, well, newsflash, Cap: you don't get to tell me how to feel."  
Chris sighed and covered his face with his hands. "I'm not trying to," he said, his voice muffled.  
"Sure sounds like it."  
Chris groaned loudly. "All I'm trying to say is this wedge between us is PRECISELY what Jen is after. That's it. That's all I'm saying here."  
"Yeah because she thinks it'll send you running back to her."  
"Exactly!"  
"Will it?"  
"No!" Chris cried in disbelief. "I'm here aren't I?"  
"You weren't last night."  
"I was with Jeremy! The second I walked back into the bar, Mackie started feeding me shots. I got fucking shit faced and I wound up on Jeremy's couch."  
"I don't know that."  
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" Chris exclaimed. "You think what? You left and I just called Jen back to the bar so I could fucking screw this up for good?!"  
Kyle sighed. She knew she was being petty. She never even once thought that. "No."  
"Good because if you really think I'm that fucking stupid we've got more problems than I thought," Chris stated. A hush fell over the room once again, neither party knowing what to say.  
Chris sighed, ruffling his hands through his hair. He sniffed and then sighed again before chuckling to himself, even though there were tears glistening in his crystal toned eyes. He didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the situation itself but he was on the verge of bawling his eyes out, which wasn't exactly the look he was going for. It was probably both. "Ky...I have spent the last...two months trying to find the perfect ring. The perfect ring to ask you to marry me with because I want this. I want you, I want us for the rest of my fucking life. But if we...if we can't get passed this, there's no point. We are...absolutely fucked."  
Kyle watched as he fought off his impending breakdown with all his might. She had never seen him so worked up over anything. He was generally a pretty emotional guy, but this was different. He was absolutely afraid of losing her and she could see it. She sighed and moved toward him. The second she wrapped her arms around his neck, Chris lost it. Good and lost it. "Hey," she soothed, holding onto the teary man."Baby, it's okay. We're gonna be okay."  
Chris pulled away, wiping his hands across his face. "Jesus Christ, I need to go to bed," he said with a light chuckle. "I'm a fucking basket case."  
Kyle laughed ever so slightly. "I think it's safe to say we both could use a nap," she stated, running her thumbs under his eyes to wipe away the last stray tears.  
"A nap?" Chris asked with a laugh. "I need a full eight hours, maybe twelve." Kyle just smiled weakly and Chris reached out, weaving his fingers into hers. "I was an idiot. I'm not even trying to deny that. I was a fucking moron, but I am not dumb enough to permanently screw this up. I'm really not."  
"I know, babe," Kyle said sweetly, brushing her hand against his cheek. "I...just...I don't know. I freaked out, alright? She drives me fucking crazy and maybe...maybe I look at her and I think that she's more your type.."  
"What?" Chris asked with a chuckle. "Baby, that's crazy..."  
"She's super hot, you cannot deny that."  
"Eh," Chris said, snarling his lip and shrugging. "I've got what I want."  
"You think you're smooth," Kyle teased.  
A little smirk crept across Chris's face. "C'mere," he commanded softly. He pulled her close, pressing his lips firmly against hers. After a moment he pulled away, slowly, but locking eyes with the girl in front of him. "I love you, Kylie. It doesn't matter who's in my past and there's no one in my future. I don't care who's looking at me, who's thinking they've got a shot. They don't. You...are...it for me. Have been since day one."  
"Stop it," Kyle said, her cheeks tinting a bright fuchsia as she hung her head.  
"I'm not kidding," Chris continued. "That first night, the second you left. I'm talking the second you walked out my front door, I deleted all traces of her. Texts, phone number, emails, anything I had. She never meant a goddamned thing to me, baby. Not even for a second."  
"Really?"  
Chris smiled. "Yeah really. I didn't even say goodbye, which...in retrospect probably could've saved us from all of this bullshit, I just cut her off. Any time I saw her after that, I had no idea was even happening. We have a lot of the same friends and she'd just be there, but I fucking swear to you, nothing ever happened. I'm not even sure I talked to her."  
"That's kinda mean."  
Chris chuckled. "Yeah it is. I'm kinda realizing why she went batshit on me."  
"But you did it for me," Kyle mumbled, moving her frame even closer to his as his arms wrapped around her waist.  
"I did. And I'd do it again. A million times," Chris insisted. "Hell, if I had met you while I was with Mara, I probably would've ended that a million years sooner. And then maybe Jen wouldn't have even happened."  
Kyle just laughed at him. "Well, I don't think we can change that."  
"No, but it'd be nice." He sighed and leaned his head against her chest. "I'm so fucking tired."  
Kyle laughed. "Bed time?"  
"Only if you promise to snuggle with me and we don't talk about what's her name again."  
"You've got yourself a deal."

The only reason Chris even moved from the bed was because he had to go to the bathroom. It was now five o'clock, and they'd pretty much been sleeping since their talk had ended. As he headed back to the cushy mattress and pillows, there was a knock at the door. Trying to stop it before the noise woke Kyle, he jogged toward the entrance, opening the door to find Jeremy.  
"Hey," his friend greeted. "You okay? Been trying to call you for like an hour."  
"Phones off," Chris answered. "I'm good. We talked and then slept. I think we're alright."  
"You sure?"  
"Yeah. Yeah we're good."  
"Good. You guys wanna get some dinner?"  
"I don't think so," Chris answered. "I've only got her for about 24 more hours and honestly...I just wanna stay locked up in here and do nothing."  
"Nothing?" Jeremy questioned with a smirk.  
"Shut up. Get outta here. Go keep Margo entertained."  
"Oh that is the plan," Jeremy grinned. "She's...pretty fantastic."  
"Just don't break her heart, alright?" Chris stated. "I'm already responsible for one douchebag. Don't give me another strike."  
"I won't, God. Chill out."  
"Have fun."  
"You too," Jeremy stated. He turned away for just a moment before turning back. "Hey, you know you haven't really made up until..."  
"Don't you worry about it, okay? Just get outta here."  
"I'm just saying," Jeremy said in a sing song tone before he began back down the hallway.  
"Hey!" Chris whispered, though it sounded more like a yell. "We're good there, by the way."  
"That's my boy!"

After sleeping all day, the duo was up into the wee hours of the morning, yet they never left the enormous, cozy bed. Movies and room service in between cuddling and making out, the day they should've had together the whole time.  
"We're good, right?" Chris asked, his beauty nestled into his arms. He felt Kyle nod against his chest.  
"We're good," she answered softly. "I'm sorry I freaked out."  
"No, it's okay. You had every right to be upset."  
"I said some stupid shit."  
"And I lied to you so I think we're even," Chris insisted. "I promise you, there are no more secrets. Everything that happened with Jen and I is out in the open. I swear to it."  
"I believe you," Kyle stated before she let out an enormous yawn.  
Chris chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Still sleepy?"  
"Mhmm."  
"Snuggle up then. Bedtime."  
"If I get any closer I'll be inside you."  
"Yeah let's not do that."  
Kyle cracked up. "Gross!"  
"You said it!"  
"You're messed up, dude."  
"You love me."  
"I like messed up."  
Chris smiled, his own eyes beginning to flutter shut. "I can tell."  
"Chris...?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Did you...find...a ring?"  
"Mm, you'll know when I'm good and ready..."  
"Is that a yes?"  
"I don't know."  
"Tease."  
"Mhmm."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Kyle squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. "I really do not get why you are upset..." They'd been on the phone a grand total of fifteen minutes and things were not going well. Their morning phone call was usually happy and bubbly and "what's going on today?" and "oh my god I miss you." But not this one. Not this one at all.   
"Why am I upset?!" Chris cried. "You haven't even mentioned opening a new place and now you're looking to buy a damned building?! Don't you think this is something we should've at least discussed?"  
"I'm not BUYING anything. I'm going to look at a space. That's it. LOOK. And honestly, I didn't realize I needed your permission."   
"That's not what I'm saying and you know it," Chris responded. He was annoyed. It could've been because of the bomb his girlfriend had just dropped or the fact it was nearing the end of filming and he was exhausted. Maybe it was because he was so close to being home he could taste it and the final three weeks of this shoot were the very last thing he wanted to be doing. Whatever it was, he was annoyed. Really annoyed. "I just don't get it. Why didn't you say something before now? How long had you and Margo been talking about this?"  
"I dunno. A couple months. It wasn't really a possibility until lately. Now Nosh is packed all the time and the interest is there. It's probably because of you. Maybe you should blame yourself."   
Chris tried not to laugh. "I kinda do."   
"Look, it's always been in the ultimate plan. But the ultimate plan didn't always look attainable. Now it does," Kyle explained. "There's nothing set in stone, Chris. We've still gotta cement investors and even see if we can find a space we like. Or maybe we'll have to build an entirely new building. I don't know. We're just kind of seeing what's out there. We've got a few meetings to look at things today, and a couple with investors later this week. I promise you, you and I will discuss it before ANYTHING is finalized. I promise."   
"Fine," Chris sighed. Was he pouting? He was definitely pouting. "I just...I wouldn't sign a contract without discussing the commitment with you first and I'd really appreciate the same courtesy. "  
"Seriously? It's a meeting! Do you tell me about every single meeting you take?"   
"Pretty much, actually. I kinda thought that was the point. Ya know, planning our life together and such, these things kinda effect both of us."   
He could practically hear the roll of Kyle's eyes through the phone. On top of all the annoyance factors he was already giving in to, he hadn't seen her in over a month. And he had gone into this phone call with the idea of seeing if she would join him in D.C. for weekend, but now that seemed like a lost cause. "I thought we were gonna take off for a bit when I got done? Run off on a vacation. Not tell anyone where we're going. Just disappear."   
"And we still will, Chris! God! This doesn't change anything," Kyle reassured. "I'm telling you, babe. Nothing changes."   
"How? How can you possibly say that?" Chris asked with a laugh. "I have a hard enough time getting you away from one restaurant. How am I gonna compete with two?"  
"Really? I have flown all over this country, once a month, to see you while you live your big Hollywood life. But I'm the bad guy. I do nothing for this relationship. At all."  
"I didn't say that."  
"Well you kind of fucking implied it," Kyle snapped. "God, ya know, it would be nice if just fucking once you could acknowledge all the things I HAVE done. Instead of making me feel like shit for having my own fucking career."   
"That's not what I'm trying to do, Kyle."   
"Oh? This is without trying? You're doing a fucking bang up job then."  
"Christ," Chris growled. "Can we have this conversation without screaming at each other? That would be fucking great."  
"Well maybe you shouldn't have started attacking me off the bat then."   
"I'm not fucking attacking you!" Chris cried. "I'm trying to communicate my concerns with you and you're going ballistic!"  
"You went there first."   
Chris closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "This conversation is going great," he said sarcastically. "Just fucking perfect. This is precisely how I wanted to start my day."   
"Oh and this is totally how I wanted my morning to go."   
"You gonna argue with every word I say or what?"  
"No. Because I'm done. I have better things to do today then defend myself to the one person who's supposed to support me no matter what."   
"Babe, I do support you. I'm just saying that this changes things."  
"It what? What did you just say to me?"  
It took a moment for Chris to realize how poorly he had worded his last sentence. But once he did: instant panic. "No! No! That's not what I meant!"   
"Well maybe we just shouldn't talk until you figure out what exactly you wanna do."   
"No, Kyle, wait..."   
"No. No, ya know what? I'm good. I've spent the last...year of my life doing so many things I've never done before, FOR YOU. Red carpets, paparazzi, vacations, leaving my restaurant for days, all to prove to you, all to support YOU and YOUR career. But me even thinking about expanding my business is enough to change your mind about us? That's bullshit. That's a whole lot of bullshit."   
"I didn't mean that."  
"That's what you said, Chris, so maybe subconsciously it's exactly what you meant."  
"Kyle, no. No, I know what I meant..."  
"I seriously have to go. I love you and I want this. So so much. You and a wedding and a family but...I also want my career, Chris. And my career is time consuming, but I love it. I want it all, and if that's not okay then we have a really big issue."   
"Ky..." Chris couldn't even get her name completely out before the call disconnected. "Fuck! Great." He sighed before flopping back onto his hotel bed. That wasn't exactly how he wanted his morning to start. 

"Um...are you gonna answer that? Margo asked with a laugh as a ringtone, one she most definitely knew belonged to Chris, blared from the top of the desk Kyle was sitting behind.   
"No," Kyle answered. She hit the power button, silencing the sound, and blackening the cutest couple picture blowing up the screen. "I really don't want to talk to him right now."   
Margo cocked an eyebrow and took a seat on the edge of the desk. "Okay, spill. What happened?"  
Kyle's head slowly waved back and forth. "I honestly have no idea," she answered with a weak laugh, as she brushed her bangs from her eyes. She had rushed out of the house so quickly and angrily that morning that she took even less time than normal getting ready and this half assed attempt at a ponytail was getting on her last nerve. "I,uh, I brought up that we were gonna go look at some prospective locations today and he... he fucking lost it. Apparently I was horrible for not talking to him first and I was horrible for not quitting my job and becoming his perfect stay at home baby factory..."  
"Stop it. He didn't say that."  
"He may as well have." She gulped down the ball of emotion that had formed in the pit of her throat. "He said that... us doing another restaurant would change things."   
"What does that mean?"  
"I don't know," Kyle sniffed. She pushed herself back in the chair, running into the wall. "I told him we needed to take a breath so he can figure out what he wants."   
"Kyle..."   
"I don't get it," Kyle interrupted, tossing down the pen in her hand. "I have...become a completely different person since we met. I went from not even going on a second date...hell not a fucking first date, to taking time off of work. To being some dude's fucking arm candy in a stupid dress. I have...completely changed who I am and I am still not good enough."   
"Kylie, I really don't think that's what he meant."  
"I don't know what to do, Mar. I want him. I want this. I really do but... I'm not willing to give up my career for it. Why is that a bad thing?"  
"It's not and I truly doubt that's what he wants you to do."   
"That's what it sounded like."   
"Ky, come on," Margo pleaded. "He panicked, okay? You threw a lot at him at once, he got freaked out. He's calling a million times because he knows he fucked up. He over reacted and he knows it."  
"Oh really? You a psychic now?"  
"I don't need to be! It's Chris! The man ADORES you and he knows that you're a friggen workaholic and he's afraid you won't have time for him," Margo assured. "Did you even mention this whole idea to him BEFORE today?"  
Kyle's eyes fell to the desk. "Not...really..."   
"Well there's your fucking problem."  
"So it's my fault?"  
"No! No. I think you're both at fault. I think you should've at least mentioned it earlier, yes. But I also think he reacted really, really poorly," Margo insisted. "BUT, I also know that you two love each other and you will be fine. I promise. It'll pass."   
"I don't know," Kyle signed as her phone rang out again. This time, however, it wasn't the Chris tone. She gulped as she picked the buzzing iPhone up and every ounce of color washed out of her face.   
"What?" Margo asked, terrified by the expression on her friend's face. "It's not Chris is it?"  
"No. No it isn't." 

"Chris! Open up!"   
Chris's eyes shot open as the door of his trailer was practically beaten off its hinges. "Jesus Christ," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up on the mediocre at best sofa. "What?"  
"Dude, open up! It's Jeremy! Come on!"  
"What the fuck," Chris groaned as he slowly pulled himself from his position of rest and headed to the door. He barely had the handle turned before Jeremy was inside and he had certainly not given him an invitation. "What is your problem?"   
"Why aren't you answering your phone?"   
"It's off. I think. It's dead. Not like it matters. Why?"  
"It's Margo," Jeremy stated, shoving his own cell into his friend's face.   
"I don't want..."  
"TAKE IT."  
Chris sighed as he unwillingly took the already connected call. "Mar, I'm gonna fix this. I swear."   
"Chris..."  
"I tried to call her like forty fucking times. She's not answering."   
"Chris! Stop!"  
"I said some stupid shit, okay, I get it..."  
"Chris! Shut up and listen! Please!"   
"What? Okay! What? I'm sorry!"   
"It's Rick. He's... he's gone."   
Chris went white as a ghost. His clean shaven jaw went slack. "What? When?"  
"A couple hours ago. Kyle tried to call you but it went right to voicemail. Now her phone is dead and I'm packing up a bag to take to her. She's already in Concord. I called her an uber. Don't worry."   
"Ok. Ok. Fuck I gotta...I gotta go talk to the director and I will be on my way. As soon as I can. I promise."   
"She really needs you, Chris."  
"I know. I know. I'll be there soon, I promise." Chris hung up and shoved the phone back in Jeremy's direction. "I um... I need to go. I need to get on a plane like now..."   
"Just breathe a second man," Jeremy commanded setting his hand on a dazed Chris's shoulder. "What's going on?"  
"Her dad... Kyle's dad... he um... he died," Chris said, his blue eyes scanning the trailer in search of everything he could possibly need to shove in a bag at that moment. "I gotta go. I gotta get to Boston."   
"Ok. Let's get a bag and then we'll go talk to Ant and Joe, alright? It'll be ok, alright?"  
"Yeah. Yeah. Okay." Chris nodded his head, but he wasn't certain he actually agreed. 

It was pouring in Boston when Chris finally arrived. Though, considering it was December, he was lucky it wasn't a blizzard. Flights from D.C. to Boston weren't exactly hard to come by, so it was the early evening but it felt like he had already missed entirely too much. His mother picked him up and the airport and they instantly raced off to Concord.   
Chris was petrified as he stood under the awning, shivering and ringing the doorbell. He hoped that when she saw him she would be more comforted than angry from their early morning fight, but there was no way for him to know.   
He bounced in the dim porch light and rang the bell once again. This time he heard footsteps approaching and soon, Margo opened the door.   
"Hey," she said softly, with an even softer smile.   
"Hi," Chris smiled back, wrapping an arm around her. "How is she?"  
"Ugh. Who knows," Margo answered, sweeping her hair into a mess atop her head. "She hasn't really said much."   
As Chris stepped into the enormous, somber home, his eyes searched for his girl. He set down his backpack and removed his soaked hoodie. "Where's she at?"   
"Out back," Margo stared with a nod in the direction of the back door. "I didn't tell her you were coming since I didn't...know. And I'm not sure she's looked at her phone at all, so..."   
"So who knows what I'm walking into," Chris finished with a nervous chuckle. "I guess we're about to find out if I'm even welcome here right now."   
"Stop it. Of course you are."   
"I hope so," Chris said with a weak smile.   
His heart quickened with every step toward the back door. He was terrified of the reaction that waited on the other side. He stopped for a moment, catching a glimpse of Kyle. She was standing in the dark, under the overhang, shielding herself from the rain pouring from the dark sky as she smoked what was probably her fifth cigarette in the last hour. Chris took a deep breath and then opened the door.   
He wasn't sure if she heard the door or not. She didn't so much as flinch. She didn't even move as his footsteps neared her either. So eventually, he took yet another breath and spoke.  
"Hey..."  
He watched her body stiffen and her lit cigarette fall to the cement beneath her flip flops. Slowly, like a ballerina in a music box at the end of its song, she turned to face him. Chris could see tears welling in her wide open eyes.   
"You...you're here..." she whispered, looking at him as if he were some sort of illusion.   
"Of course I am," Chris responded. "Ky, I..." There was so much more he wanted to say but there wasn't time. Kyle practically crashed into his arms, finally releasing the tears he knew she had been holding back the entire day. He closed his eyes and held her tightly, pressing a long kiss into the top of her head. "It's okay, baby," he soothed softly as the girl trembled against him. "It's okay, babe. I got you. I'm here." And he was. And he knew he always wanted to be.


	21. Chapter 21

When Chris awoke the next morning, he immediately saw Kyle up and getting ready for the day. There hadn’t been much for conversation the night before. Not that he had thought there would be. Honestly, if he knew Kyle, she’d avoid talking about their fight all together, but he had to apologize. He felt horrible about how he reacted. Even more horrible with what she was going through now.   
“What’s going on?” he asked groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes before stretching for the sky.   
“I have to go get my mom,” Kyle answered simply as she tied her hair back.   
Chris’s blue eyes widened. “Your mom’s coming?” he asked, stunned.   
Kyle nodded but rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Don’t ask me why. She hasn’t said a nice word about my dad in like twenty years and now he dies and she’s just gotta be at the funeral.”   
“Well that should be… interesting…”   
Kyle scoffed. “To say the least.” She sniffed and took a breath and fidgeted around, wasting time in whatever manner she could. Eventually she sighed and turned to face Chris. “Look, I know things are weird at best between us right now, but if we could just pretend everything is great while my mom is around, that would be fantastic.”   
“Kyle…”   
“I’m serious. The last thing I need is her seeing cracks in the foundation and shouting from the rooftops how I fucked up another good thing.”   
“Babe, you didn’t fuck anything up,” Chris said with a slight chuckle. “We’re gonna be fine. We just… we got in a fight.”   
“Chris,” Kyle began with a stern stare. “That was way more than a fight. That was… pent up bullshit that has probably been there since the beginning of this.”   
“I was… surprised, okay? I reacted poorly. I’m not saying we should end this.” Chris was waiting for Kyle to jump in. An “oh no. Of course not,” would’ve been optimal, but nothing came. “Wait…” Chris began again, taken aback by her lack of response. “Is that… is that what you want? Are you ready to call this off?”   
Kyle gulped. “No… I just… I don’t know. I’m just beginning to think that… you’d be better off with someone…”   
“Don’t. Don’t fucking do that,” Chris snapped. “Don’t fucking tell me who I’d be better off with. Don’t patronize me. Are you fucking kidding me right now? You’re breaking up with me?”   
“No, Chris. Just calm down,” Kyle said, as she buried her face in her hands.   
“I’m not gonna calm down!” Chris cried. “Yeah, we had a fight. But I came in here last night thinking I had to apologize. This is the woman I’m spending the rest of my life with, ya gotta fix this. And now… now you’re telling me you don’t feel the same way?”   
“That’s not what I said at all,” Kyle said. “God. I shouldn’t have fucking said anything. Just forget it.”   
“No, we obviously have shit we need to talk about.”   
“I CAN’T DO THIS RIGHT NOW!” Kyle screamed as the tears began to pour from her eyes. “I need to go get my mom who fucking hates me. I need to call funeral homes so I can bury my fucking father. I haven’t slept in two goddamn days and I’m exhausted, Chris. I cannot fucking do this. Can we please, please, table this for the time being? Please. I am begging you.”   
Chris knew he had pushed too hard. This wasn’t the time nor the place for this conversation and he knew that. “Okay. Okay,” he soothed, climbing out of bed and heading for the sobbing brunette. “C’mere. I’m sorry,” he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders. He dipped his head and planted his lips against the top of her head. “I came here to be supportive and… take care of you and that’s what I’m gonna do.”   
Kyle looked up into the cloudy blue eyes in front of her. He was upset too, and she felt bad. “I love you,” she said, an emotional lump forming in the pit of her throat. “This isn’t about my feelings or intentions changing, at all. We just… have some things we need to talk about…”   
Chris nodded. “Okay. We can do that later.”   
“Thank you,” Kyle gulped. Her eyes drifted closed as his lips pressed into her forehead. “I need to get on the road.”   
“Okay. I’ll… get cleaned up and put my best face forward.”   
“You’re a rich movie star, that’s all she needs.”   
Chris chuckled as Kyle pulled out of his arms and grabbed her purse from the dresser beside the door. “Hey.”   
“Yeah?” Kyle repeated, turning back over her shoulder.   
“I love you.”   
Kyle smiled weakly. “I love you too.” 

Kyle’s stories and warnings about her mother were not wrong. The woman was a carbon copy of Kyle, just twenty years older: the dark hair, the sparkling dark eyes, even their smiles matched almost perfectly. But their personalities were completely different. Kyle pulled no punches. If she didn’t like what was going on around her, everyone knew. There wasn’t a fake or forced bone in her body. Belinda, on the other hand, her personality fluctuated to whomever she needed to impress. Chris was almost uncomfortable with her constant barrage of smiles and laughs and touches. It felt strikingly like his girlfriend’s mother was flirting with him. And it was gross.   
Aside from the mother from hell, the tension between Chris and Kyle was more than evident as well. Despite the fact she wanted everything to appear “fine,” Kyle was giving Chris no leeway. He attempted to embrace her, she went limp. He leaned in to kiss her, she turned a cheek to him. He tried to place a comforting hand on her thigh under the table and she jerked away as fast as she could without shaking the table. If this was how they appeared fine, he’d rather be fighting.   
After putting up with her mother’s bullshit stories and bullshit laughs for a lengthy dinner, Kyle had enough. Luckily for her, the group was low on wine and if she was to continue to be cordial, that wasn’t allowed to happen.   
“I am going to head to the wine cellar,” Kyle said with a hefty sigh as she rose from the table. “I think we need more wine.”   
“Of course, you do, darling,” Belinda laughed. “You’re a Donato! They know how to drink!” She apparently found herself incredibly amusing and laughed as she placed her hand on Chris’s forearm.   
Chris, however, did not find her funny, but forced a smile nonetheless. “Babe, I will give you a hand,” he said with wide eyes. “Excuse us.”   
Chris and Kyle remained silent as they headed for the kitchen. The wine cellar was, obviously, in the basement, the door, however, was outside, like an old tornado cellar. Once they were out of earshot, Chris groaned loudly.   
“Oh my God, babe. Seriously…” he huffed.   
Kyle laughed as she lifted open the door. “I told you,” she replied as she began down the steps. As she hit the dirt floor, she remembered that the door needed to be propped open or they’d be stuck. “Oh, hey, don’t let that…” But her warning was too late, Chris was already down the stairs and the door slammed shut. “Oh fuck no!” she exclaimed, practically pushing the movie star out of the way as she bolted back up the small staircase. She slammed the palms of her hands against the wood door but they were met with nothing but a loud thud. “No! No! No!”   
“What?!” Chris exclaimed. “What’d I do?”   
“The door locks! We needed to prop it open!” Kyle exclaimed. “Fuck!”  
“I didn’t know!”   
“I didn’t say it was your fault!” Kyle shouted as she walked back down. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and groaned again. “And no reception. Fucking great. Great. Do you have bars?”   
Chris shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, his hands still stuffed in the pockets of his slacks. “I don’t have my phone. I left it in the bedroom.”   
“Great. Fucking great.” Kyle sighed loudly, angrily and sank into a wooden crate on the floor. “Well, we’re stuck now, but at least my mom isn’t here.”   
Chris chuckled. “That’s awful… but true.”   
“I fucking told you.”   
“I don’t think you could’ve properly prepared me for this. She might be… actually she definitely is a better actor than I am. She should get an Oscar.”   
Kyle chuckled, “Well, as long as you’re rich and famous, she won’t be mean to you. Me, on the other hand… that’s a different ballgame all together.”   
“She’s so snide when it comes to you. It’s really weird.”  
“It’s really passive aggressive is what it is. I feel bad not saying anything. Not defending you.”   
“Don’t. It’s not worth it,” Kyle advised. “I’ve heard it all before. Doesn’t even phase me anymore.”   
“That doesn’t make it okay.”   
“I’m not saying it’s okay. I’m just saying it’s normal,” Kyle insisted. She paused and shook her head. “I’m just done. I want… all of this to be over. The funeral, her, this bullshit with us…” Kyle looked up and saw Chris’s jaw clench. “I meant the fight, Chris.”   
“Yeah. Yeah, me too.”   
Kyle sighed. “What I said earlier, I didn’t mean that I don’t want to be with you. That’s not at all what I was implying. I just… I feel like I’m holding you back from what you want and that is the absolute last thing I ever want to do.”   
“You’re not holding me back from anything, Ky. I’m exactly where I want to be. It’s just hard sometimes. I feel like you’ve still got this wall.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“I mean, you don’t wanna talk about it, but… you want it to be over. You want to pretend everything’s okay but every time I’ve even attempted to touch you, you basically turn up your nose. Not real convincing if we’re trying to pretend everything’s fine.”   
“What do you want from me?’ Kyle asked, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. “I’m exhausted, Chris…”  
“I know that! I get that! I understand, I just… I don’t know!” Chris nearly squealed, his shoulders rising to his ears then quickly falling back down. “But you gotta give me something! I don’t know what to do here!”   
“You don’t have to do anything!” Kyle shouted. “I never even asked you to be here!”   
Chris’s jaw went slack and his blue eyes narrowed into tiny slits. He gasped a bit and shook his head. “What… what are you talking about? What is going on with you?! You’ve been acting weird and… I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know what’s going to set you off, I don’t know what’s going to make you happy. I just don’t know.” He paused a moment and his tone grew more hushed. “I’m just at a loss, babe. I really am.”   
“If being with me is so difficult, why are you?” Kyle asked. “Why do you want this to continue?”   
“Because I fucking love you, Kyle. Jesus. I didn’t think I had to explain that.” There was a much too long lull to the conversation. It was uncomfortable. And it was terrible. Chris sighed. “What do you want, Kyle? Do you want to be with me?”   
“Of course I do! But…”   
“But what?!” Chris cried. “There’s no but! If you want to be with me, you want to be with me. It’s that simple.”   
“No, it isn’t!” Kyle retorted. “Not with the fight we just had! You are… completely one hundred percent ready to have a wedding and kids tomorrow, and I don’t know if I’m there yet! I don’t know that I’m ready to give up my career and my passions…”   
“I would never ask you to do that…” Chris began.   
“But you basically did. Yesterday. During our fight, that is EXACTLY what you were doing.”   
Chris clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. “Okay. I overreacted yesterday, I know that…”   
“Did you, Chris? Did you overreact or is that how you REALLY feel? Deep down. Do you genuinely feel like this is something you want to do forever?”   
Chris gulped as tears began to fill his eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to say here.”   
“I want you to be honest. With me, and with yourself,” Kyle stated. “I love you. More than anything in this world. Your happiness is the more important than anything to me and I want to believe that I am the person that’s going to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of. But I need to be ready for all those things too, and I’m not. I’m just not yet. I need time. And if that’s not something you can give me, then maybe we should rethink things.”   
Chris clenched his teeth and folded his arms across his chest. Slowly, his head began waving back and forth. “I can’t believe this is even happening right now.”  
“Baby, I’m just trying to look out for you…”   
“Oh bullshit, Kyle,” Chris dismissed, a definite bitterness to the tone of his voice. “This is how you get out of things, right? This is how you can end this and not feel guilty.”   
“That’s not what… that’s not what I’m doing, at all. I can’t believe you would even suggest that.”   
“Then why are you trying to pin all of this on me?!” Chris cried. “I have… a fucking thirty thousand dollar ring in my goddamn pocket and you’re QUESTIONING if this is where I want to be?!”   
Kyle shook her head scoffed. “What? What did you just say?”   
“You heard me,” Chris said simply. He walked toward the girl and placed his hands on her cheeks, forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. “I am sorry about how I reacted yesterday. I am sorry that I made you doubt my feelings about you, but they have not changed. Nothing has changed. I want you until the day I die. I want this. I want us. Yes, I want kids and I want things to slow down, but that doesn’t need to be tomorrow. I am willing to wait until YOU are ready. Because none of it matters if it’s not with you.”   
Kyle’s lips pursed together as she fought a smile. “You’re such an asshole.”   
Chris laughed loudly. “Why now?” he asked, tears glistening in his eyes.   
“You can’t say shit like that. It’s not fair. You know I have no idea how to respond.”   
“Just shut up and kiss me then.”   
Kyle giggled a bit but did as instructed. And for the first time in the last forty-eight hours, things felt like they were going to be okay. She felt warm and happy and full. She smiled intently as he pulled away and kissed her forehead. “I love you,” she whispered.   
“I love you too,” Chris stated with a coy smirk before pressing his lips into hers once again. “You… are easily the most frustrating woman I have ever dated… but there is no one in this world I would rather be frustrated by.”   
“Good, because I’m pretty sure you can’t return an engagement ring…”   
“You’re right. I cannot.”   
Just as Chris’s sentence ended a beam of light from the outside poured in through the cellar door.   
“You know,” came Margo’s voice as she ducked her head into view, “it’s not cool to leave me up there with Mommie Dearest.”   
“We got locked in!” Kyle exclaimed, making a move for the stairs.   
“Bullshit. You assholes did that on purpose.”


End file.
